Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, United Duelists Academy
by OddEyes588
Summary: United Duelists Academy, the top school in the world, meant to train Duelists to be the absolute BEST, though in this world, Duelists don't summon monsters, they BECOME them. Enter the life of Yuya Sakaki and his brothers as they enter this school, and become stronger than ever, and even watch romances blossom. Alternate Universe, heavy shipping, especially Fruitshipping, Action
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**Oh boy, I'm excited about this story, and I hope you guys enjoy it as well!**

**Without further ado, let's get right into it!**

**_Chapter 1: The Beginning_**

"Yuya!" Yelled a black and purple haired boy, "are you packed yet?" He yelled up to the second floor of their house.

"Al... most...!" Yelled back Yuya, who was busy cramming a massive amount of belongings into a red luggage. "Are you sure you don't need help?" Said another boy who walked into the room, his hair was blue and yellow, he wore a white suit with a yellow tie.

"I'm fine... Yugo...!" He said, now zipping up his luggage, his red and green hair sticking out more than usual. "Oh come on Yuya!" Said the black haired boy, coming upstairs in a black suit with a purple tie, "I told you to get rid of the bedhead spikes!" He said shaking his head.

"Oh like you're one to talk Yuto..." Said a purple and pink haired boy, wearing a purple suit with a pink tie. "Oh shut up Yuri..." Said Yuto.

"Alright! Done!" Said Yuya, finally managing to close his luggage, which was nearly bursting. "I'm good to go!" He said, smiling, Yuto groaned, "At least comb it down a little bit!" He said, taking out a comb and fixing Yuya's hair, it was still spiky, but all of them had spiky hair, Yuya's just needed less of the bedhead spikes.

"Come on you four!" Yelled a voice from downstairs, "The bus is here!" Yelled the voice. "Coming Dad!" They all said in unison, dragging their luggage down the stairs.

They all scrambled down the stairs, lining up side by side, in front of them was their father, Yusho Sakaki.

He smiled at them, "Well, today's the big day, isnt it?" He said smiling widely, "Off to United Duelists, I'm proud of you all." He said, the boys smiled back. "Yuto..." Yusho said to the boy, "As the oldest, I expect you to be the responsible one, okay?" He said to him, "Try and keep your brothers out of trouble, okay?" He said, Yuto nodded.

"Yuri..." Yusho said, "Please, actually try not to get in trouble, okay?" He said, though he still grinned, Yuri grinned back, "No promises..." He said mischieviously.

"Yugo," Yusho said, "Work hard at school, okay?" He said, "You know you can do it, so knock em out." He said, Yugo smiled widely.

"Yuya," Yusho said, finally making his way to the youngest, "Always remember to smile, you can do anything if you can just do that." He said, Yuya grinned, "Of course!" He said, smiling as widely as his father, Yusho laughed, "The same goes for the rest of you!" He said looking at the four brothers, "Always remember to smile." He said, his grin lighting up the room.

Yusho stood outside as he watched the four brothers step onto a fancy looking bus, stopped in front of their home, he waved goodbye and they waved back.

He knew that they would do great at their new school.

_Later..._

The trip to United Duelists Academy was, complicated to say the least. So an explanation is deserved.

United Duelists Academy is the top Duelist-Training Facility in the world, a boarding school for those who wished to become Duelists. It was a giant, high-tech facility situated on a large island in the middle of the ocean.

The process of getting there was simple, UDA (United Duelists Academy) would have offical buses pick up the students, they would then be taken to airplanes which would fly them to the school grounds, all set up so that the students would arrive about 2 days before the Start-of-the-year Ceremony. For the Yu-Boys, they would have a 3 hour flight along with other students in their area.

Oh, you should probably know about what a Duelist is as well.

A Duelist is a person with a special power, some are born with it, others train to develope it, but either way, they are still all the same.

They all have the ability to transform.

What makes a Duelist well, a Duelist, is that special power to transform into powerful creatures, some duelists would become protectors, helping police, catching villains, all of that stuff. Some were simply Duelists because they could, and others, like their father, did it to entertain people.

Yes, their father, Yusho Sakaki, was a Duelist, an Entertainment Duelist to be exact. He performed acts as a duelist, trying to put smiles on people's faces, Yuya could still remember the feelings he had when he first saw his father transform into Sky Magician.

_"This is your captain speaking,"_ Said a voice over the intercom, Yuya shook himself awake, _"We are approaching our destination, if you look out the right windows, you will see the island where you will be staying at." _He said over the intercom, Yuya had been given the window seat, he peered out of it, Yuto looked with him while Yuri and Yugo griped about how they were on the left side of the plane and were unable to see it.

"Wow..." Yuya said, "You can say that again..." Said Yuto.

The island was huge, and was a perfect fusion of nature and technology, you could see different facilities on the island, blending almost perfectly with the greenery. "Are those where we'll have our classes?" He asked, Yuto shrugged. There was also a large castle sort of building at the top of a mountain in the center of the island.

"Hey, IS THAT A D-WHEEL HIGHWAY!?" Yelled Yugo, who had gotten out of his seat (despite Yuri's protests) to look out the window, his face glimmered with excitement as their attention was turned to a highway that also went around the island, as well as through the mountain. "Well, D-Wheels are a big part of being a Duelist" Yuya pointed out, "I'm hoping to learn to use one as well..." He said, imagining himself riding one. Yugo was ecstatic, "Just you wait, i'm gonna learn how to make D-Wheels, and i'll make all of us one!" He said, grinning like an idiot.

"Oh relax already," Said Yuri, dragging him back to his seat, "We're about to land, stay in your seat damn it..." He said, Yugo grumbled.

_Later..._

Yuya groaned as he got out of the plane, "Agh... my foot's asleep..." He groaned, kneeling while his leg experienced the painful sensation of pins and needles. "Hey, are you okay?" Said a feminine voice above him.

Yuya looked up, "Yeah i'm... fine..." He said, trailing off, his voice suddenly stopped working.

Above him was a girl dressed in what looked like a school uniform, it had a short pink skirt and she had two blue hairpins keeping her hair as short twin tails, she had bright blue eyes and bright pink hair, she gave him a worried look.

Yuya was silent as he looked at her, she gave him a puzzled look.

"Yuzu! Let's go!" Yelled another feminine voice, they looked over and saw three girls waving at the pinkette above him, similarly to him and his brothers, the four girls all had faces that looked almost completely identical.

"O-Oh, right!" She said, helping Yuya up, before running over to them. "W-Wait!" Yuya yelled after her, she turned around, "Huh?" She said, looking at him.

"U-Uh, my names Y-Yuya!" He said, extending a hand, the girl, her name presumeably Yuzu smiled, and extended her own hand. "My name's Yuzu! Nice to meet you!" She said, shaking his hand, Yuya's heart fluttered when her hand touched his.

She quickly ran off to join the other three girls, presumeably her sisters considering their uncanny resemblance. Yuya didn't notice how red his face was.

"Oh? What's this?" Said a voice behind him, Yuya groaned, "Does my little brother have a crush already?" Said the voice, revealed to be Yuri. "Wait, seriously?" Yuto said, appearing out of nowhere, a smile on his face, "Oh come on!" Yuya said exasperately, already expecting the teasing. "Well well well!" Said a voice belonging to Yugo, Yuya groaned even more, "Don't worry little bro, you can trust me to be your wingman!" He said, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

"You? His wingman? Please, you'll end up making the girl hate him." Said Yuri.

"Shut up Yuri" Said Yugo.

"Shut up _Fusion_" Said Yuri.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, MY. NAME. IS. YUGO." Yelled Yugo.

"Sorry Yugo, we all know how well the girls at our last school liked you." Said Yuto.

"Hey! I was popular!" Said Yugo.

"No you werent."

"Yeah, no."

"Definitely not."

"You guys suck!" Yugo said, pouting while they walked towards a bus that would take them to their dorms.

_Later..._

"Whoa!" Yelled Yugo, "This is where we're staying!?" He exclaimed, looking at the giant mansion in front of them. "No, idiot." Said Yuri, "We're just hear to feel inferior to whoever lives here, of course we live here Yugo!" He said, smacking him in the back of the head. "But... all to ourselves?" Yuya said nervously.

"Of course not..." Yuto said, "we got this place because Dad happens to be good friends with the two headmasters, but we're sharing with another 4-person group." Yuto said, handing out keys to each of the boys, each of them with a keychain of a single color for each of them.

"Purple is Yuri's, White is Yugo's, Black is mine..." He said, handing his brothers a key, "And Yuya gets red." He said, handing Yuya his keys.

"Seriously? Such a high-tech facility, and we get in through keys?" He said, twirling the key on his finger. "Well, there's also the retinal scan." Said Yuto, walking up to the door. "Wait, seriously?" Said Yugo, running up to him. "mmhm, that's why I gave you specific colors." He said, "The key doesnt unlock the door, it activates the scan, and it then specifically scans for the person the key should belong to." He said, explaining the function.

"So for me, I stick the key in, twist it..." He said, following his own instructions, he twisted the key and it glowed black, suddenly a hatch opened above the keyhole and a camera appeared in front of him. "Then, because it was MY key that was inserted in, it scans specifically for ME, Yuto Sakaki." He said, as the camera began to glow, searching for a person to scan.

"Ooh! What happens if it isn't the right person?" Yugo asked, running up to the camera and putting himself in front of it, the camera locked it's sights on Yugo and began scanning.

_*Beeeeeeep!*_

Suddenly, the camera shot a red beam at the boy, sending him flying a few feet away from the door. "Gah!" Yugo yelled out as he flew backwards.

"That, that is what happens." Yuto said while Yuya helped the groaning boy up, "It's not lethal, it's basically just knocking you away from the door." He said casually, Yugo groaned, Yuri grinned mischieviously, and Yuya sighed.

Yuto inserted the key again, this time letting the camera scan him instead of Yugo.

_*Beep Beep!*_

The door made a humming noise before it gave a little "Click!", Yuto opened the door allowing them to enter.

The place was AMAZING.

A large chandelier hung from the ceiling, it was a two-floor facility with a big kitchen, a game room with a big TV, as well as a large living room, they immediately began exploring.

"Whoa..." Yuri said, entering the bathroom, "This thing is as big as my room back home..." He said, looking around at the clean room before him, the shower was huge with about ten different areas for water to come out, the bath was as big as his bed, and the toilet seat had gold lining, GOLD. LINING.

Even the toilet paper was neatly folded into a little triangle at the end.

Yuri dashed out of the bathroom and into another one, it was pretty much the same.

"Are... are all of the bathrooms this good?" He asked himself, bewildered.

Yuto entered the kitchen, "Oh my god..." He said as he opened drawers at maximum speed, "This place has everything..." He said, picking up some kitchen appliances. "This is the best day of my life..." He said, gazing lovingly at the kitchen around him.

Yugo went to the back of the house, where he saw a huge backyard, "Wow..." He said, whistling. "He looked around at the game room, "What did we do to deserve this?" He said, smiling widely.

Yuya went upstairs, he saw eight doors around the area, He saw one labeled "Yuya" on it, he tried to open it, only to find it locked.

He also saw a keyhole just like the one outside.

He inserted his key into the keyhole, a camera popped out, giving him a little suprise. It scanned him before receding back into its compartment, the door clicked open.

"Whoa..." He said, looking around, the room was about twice the size of his room at home, and there was a private bathroom and everything, Yuri appeared behind him. "Oh good, you found a bedroom," Yuri said, his eyes wide, "I need to see the personal bathrooms..." He said, dashing into Yuya's.

"OH MY GOD THEY'RE ALL HUGE!" He yelled from the bathroom. Yuya chuckled. Yuto entered his room, he whistled, "Wow... are we getting spoiled or what?" He said, looking around. "No kidding..." Yuya said, wide-eyed.

Suddenly Yugo entered the room, _"Guys!" _He said in what seemed to be a whisper, except it was way too loud. _"I hear some other people in here, other than us!" _He whisper yelled, "Hm?" Yuri said, poking his head out of the bathroom, "must be our roommates," He said to him, "Lets go introduce ourselves." Said Yuto, walking out of the room with Yugo and Yuri, Yuya still gaping at the size of his room.

_"Listen, you can hear them!" _Yugo whispered as they approached a door, it was slightly open by just a crack. "Wow, you're ri-oi, what are you doing?" Yuto said as Yugo crept up to the door, "I'm gonna suprise em!" He said, Yuto sighed, "Come on Yugo, that's childish..." He said, though Yugo still didn't listen.

Yuri, who was listening to the voices carefully, suddenly panicked. "Wait Yugo! Those are femini-"

It was too late, Yugo threw open the door and yelled "SUPRISE!"

It was met with four banshee-screeches, Yugo's face went a bright red, "W-WAIT WH-" He was cut off by suddenly being hit by a chair, thrown at him with considerable force.

"...Feminine voices... those were feminine voices..." He said, placing a hand on his forehead.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Yelled Yuya, popping his head out of his room at the same time that a pink haired girl dashed out of the room holding a paper fan in one hand and a towel in the other, the latter being used to cover a body that was likely only in underwear.

"Why you...!" Yelled the pinkette.

"Get him Yuzu!" Yelled another voice from inside.

Then their eyes met, Yuya's and the girl's.

Yuzu's face was bright red, Yuya was still processing what was going on.

Yuto and Yuri quickly averted their eyes from the can of worms Yugo had just opened up.

"W-Wait what the he-"

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

_Later..._

Everyone, now fully dressed, sat around a round table in the living room, four of the people were girls, the other were boys.

The girls happened to be glaring directly at Yugo, who was now holding an ice pack over his swollen eye.

The guys just felt nervous, as well as bad for Yugo.

"Ahem..." Said Yuri, breaking the ice. "I'd like to start off our first group meeting with this..." He said, clearing his throat. "It's all Yugo's fault, I tried to stop him, he didn't listen, and he's also an idiot." He said bluntly, "Hey!" Said Yugo angrily, "I can't believe im saying this, but i'm taking Yuri's side here, Yugo." Said Yuto, despite Yugo's protests.

"I-I was just in my room, then I heard a crash..." Said Yuya, who's face now had a bright-red hand mark on it. "I didn't know what was happening..." He said, the pink-haired girl, or rather, Yuzu was still glaring at him, but she looked like she felt a little bad about her reaction when her eyes drifted to the red mark she had placed on his face.

"I thought you were guys!" Yugo said, desperately trying to defend himself. "I didn't think that it would be well... girls, you know?" He said, one of the girls slammed her hands on the table, "Even then, learn some tact will you?" Said a green-haired girl, "You could have knocked first you know!" She yelled at him.

"But I was planning to suprise y-"

"You don't do that! It's simple manners!" She exclaimed, starting to nag the boy, "Okay okay! I get it!" He said, the girl sat down with a "hmph".

"Well, ignoring that for now..." Yuya said, trying to change the topic, "I think we should actually introduce ourselves, how's that?" He said, Yuto nodded, "I'll start, My name is Yuto Sakaki." He said, standing up. "Hi, the name's Yugo Sakaki," He said, still holding the ice pack. "My name's Yuri, Yuri Sakaki." Said Yuri, "Alright, and my name is Yuya Sakaki!" Yuya said, smiling.

The girls sighed, before doing the same, "Hello, my name's Serena Kurosaki..." Said a blue haired girl, she had her hair tied up into a ponytail with a yellow ribbon, she seemed tomboyish. "Hi, my name's Rin Kurosaki, it's nice to meet you all..." Said the green haired girl, though she gave a quick glare at Yugo as she said "All".

"Hi! My name is Ruri! Ruri Kurosaki!" Said a purple-haired girl, she seemed to be the more forgiving out of them all, though it was clear that her first impression of Yugo had her a little upset. Yuya could have sworn he saw Yuto blush a little bit when he saw her, but he quickly dismissed it as his imagination. "Hello, I'm Yuzu Kurosaki..." Said the pinkette, "Sorry about slapping you, Yuya..." She said, apologizing. "Oh don't worry about it, it's fine!" Yuya said quickly.

"Well, now that we've all introduced ourselves..." Yuto said, "I hope that, despite our first meeting, we can all get along well." He said, "Also, one thing you should know, don't trust Yuri with anything important like say, your keys." He said, giving Yuri a look, Yuri whistled. "Trust me, you will regret it." He said calmly.

And so, the first meeting ended up going well.

_Two days later._

"YUYA COME ON!" Yelled Yugo in a panic, "WE'RE GONNA BE LATE FOR THE OPENING CEREMONY!" He yelled, Yuya burst out the door, he was wearing his usual clothing, a red T-Shirt along with his white jacket, except he had the jacket closed rather than flowing behind him like a cape, as well as green cargo pants. "I KNOW!" He yelled, pushing Yugo out of the way, carrying a green duffle bag carrying his school supplies on one shoulder, and a paper with his schedule on it in his other hand.

"Geez you guys!" Said Yuto as Yuya and Yugo burst out of the door, "Even if you guys suck at getting up, I expected you guys would have been excited about this!" He said as they began running. "The girls have already gone ahead of us you know..." Said Yuri who ran next to Yuya, "I thought you wanted to go with your little pink crush..." He teased, "Oh shut up Yuri!" Yuya yelled while everyone else laughed.

"There they are!" Yelled Yugo as the station came into view, as well as the girls they had been sharing a home with for the past two days.

"Geez, where were you guys!" Said Rin, pulling Yugo's ear, "Ow! Sorry!" He yelled out, "We made it r-OW!" He exclaimed as Rin continued to pull his ear, despite how they first met, they seemed to get along well, provided that you saw Rin constantly trying to make sure Yugo stops messing up all the time as "getting along well."

"Oh hush you two..." Said Serena, who had walked over to the wall and pressed a big red button. Suddenly, a series of what seemed to be portals opened up against the wall. Rin and Yugo froze in suprise when they saw a giant purple wormhole open in front of them.

They were even more suprised when Yuri appeared behind them and shoved them through it. "Y-Yuri!?" Yugo yelled as he and Rin fell through a portal with words above it labeling it "Auditorium"

Everyone else gave him a concerned look, except for Serena, she seemed impressed. "What?" He said, "I actually read the guidebook we were given and know how to operate these things." He said smugly, "Guidebook... wait, you had it!?" Yuto yelled, "I was looking for that everywhere!" He said angrily, "Well maybe you should have asked Blue-hair over there," He said, pointing at the girl, "She read it as well." He said, grinning, Serena grinned back.

"Basically, you go through a portal to get to somewhere in the school," Yuri explained, "they lead to stations just like these in different areas depending on which one you go through." He said.

"The one he pushed Rin and Yugo through was set to take them to the Auditorium station," Serena continued, "we needed to head there anyways, it tells you which station will take you closest to your classes on your schedule." She explained.

"One thing I'm disappointed about though..." Yuri Said, "If you want to go to one of the Dorm Stations like this one, you need a key to that specific dorm." He said.

"What, disappointed you can't TP the other dorms without making an impossible trek through the island?" Yuya joked.

"Hit the nail right on the head little brother," Yuri Said, grinning. Yuya couldn't help but feel uneasy.

"Wait, why are we standing around!?" Yelled Yuto, "We actually ARE late now! Go!" He yelled, dashing through the portal, everyone else did the same. Only to see Rin attempting to strangle Yugo, her face was bright red.

"You perv! Ass! Scum of the earth!" She yelled, "I-It was an accident, I didn't mean to!" Yugo yelled back, "Whoa, what's going on?" Yuya asked, Yuto looked anxious to start running again. "H-H-He g-grabbed m-my chest!" She yelled, her face bright red, Yugo immediately defended himself, "SHE FELL ON TOP OF ME IT WASNT ON PURPOSE!" He yelled.

They didn't get to continue the arguement, Yuto had grabbed both of them and was now dragging them to a building in the distance. "Yell at eachother later, we are LATE" He yelled as they made their way to the auditorium.

_Later..._

"Hoo... we made it just in time..." Yuto said, melting into his chair, "What would we do without you, Yuto..." Yuya said, unzipping his jacket and adjusting it to be more "cape" than "jacket", "It's too hot to be wearing a jacket normally..." He groaned, Yuzu took notice of his necklace as he laid back. "Hey Yuya, what's that?" She asked, pointing at the pendant.

"Oh this?" He said, holding it up, "It's a pendulum, to me it's a good luck charm." He said, he swayed it a little, causing it to swing back and forth. "Wow... that's neat..." She said, watching it swing.

"I hope Rin forgives Yugo..." Yuya said, looking at the two, they had unfortunately ended up sitting next to eachother, and were shooting daggers at eachother through their eyes. "Oh them?" Ruri piped in, "Don't worry, Rin'll forgive Yugo soon, she knows it was accidental," She said, "It's just because of her first impression of Yugo that she's going off on him so much." She said. Serena joined the conversation as well, "I bet she likes him..." She said, grinning. "Huh? Why's that?" Yuya asked, Serena shrugged, "Just a hunch." She said before she leaned back into her seat.

They didn't get to pursue the conversation any longer, as the lights suddenly cut out, leaving everyone in the darkness.

A few people yelped, until suddenly a spotlight came onto the stage, though nobody was in it. Suddenly, words boomed out through the room, "Please welcome, the two headmasters!" It boomed, a few people clapped, some stayed quiet though, sitting in suspense.

The sound of footsteps filled the room as a shadow slowly came into visibility, two shadows actually, one was significantly taller than the other.

They stepped into the light, one was wearing a blue uniform, buttoned up nicely, he looked fairly young, though his hair was completely insane, sticking out in about 5 different directions, with a shade of dark-red, as well as yellow spikes hanging down.

The other looked almost identical, except he seemed tougher, much more serious than the other, and taller as well, his hair was the same except the yellow spikes went up instead of down. He seemed to exude power, whereas the other exuded kindness.

"Greetings everyone..." Said the taller one, his voice commanded respect almost instantly. "My name is Atem"

**Annnnnnnnnnnnd that's where we're going to have to end off our chapter today!**

***series of "awws" and "the heck man!" are heard***

**I am just... so excited about this story, I've been thinking about it for a week and i'm going to be working on the next chapter immediately, if I don't get writers block, I could get it out tomorrow, or even today! **

**Haha no, in my dreams, it's late on my end, im going to sleep.**

**Anyways, who knows how long this creative burst will go, you'll know it's ended when it takes more than one day for a chapter to come out, because that means im secluded in my room, biting my nails and imagining a million different directions the story can go in.**

**In the meantime. I'll go ahead and give you this information:**

**Order of Age (Yu-Boys)**

**Yuto: Oldest Brother**

**Yuri: Second Oldest**

**Yugo: Second Youngest**

**Yuya: Youngest**

**Ages: All are the same age, they've been told that Yuto just came out first, then Yuri, then Yugo, then Yuya. They are all 16.**

**Now, I know I just left you on a cliffhanger (already? Its the first chapter!) But bear with me.**

**I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, and i'll see you next time, byeeeeeeee!**

**(Oh, by the way, expect a HUGE TON of Fruitshipping, a TON of Appleshipping, a TON of Fallenangelshipping, and a TON of Predatorshipping, you have been advised)**


	2. Chapter 2: Pendulum of Souls

**Welcome back everybody! This chapter was considerably harder to make after I accidentally closed the tab without saving, and a good portion of the entire chapter dissappeared, leaving me in total anguish.**

_**Besides that,**_** I'm really glad you guys reviewed, simply because I love your feedback! And not because I live for reviews because they're the best part of my day, haha! _Please Review._**

**But seriously, thank you all for your feedback, i'm glad you like the concept, and any constructive criticism is appreciated because it helps me improve as a writer, and at the same time, any compliments are appreciated because they make me feel warm and fuzzy inside!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

_**Chapter 2: Pendulum of Souls**_

"So those are the two headmasters huh..." Yuya wondered out loud, he couldn't help but respect the taller one, and he couldn't help but like the shorter one, though they both seemed strong, the taller one had a sort of... kingly? It seemed like the word to describe it, but it seemed off, either way, he looked both wise and powerful, and exuded a commanding aura around him.

Yuya looked around him, Yuzu, Serena, Rin, and Ruri were all entranced, seemingly experiencing the same commanding presense he gave off. As for his brothers, Yuto and Yugo were reacting the same way he was, but he was particularly suprised at Yuri.

Yuri always seemed to try to find a way to act condescending at anybody, he hardly showed respect for anybody other than his brothers, his father, and now, these two people who stood on the stage in front of them, as he had nothing to say, though he had expected for him to say something like "Hmph, the small one doesn't look so tough."

Yuya felt bad even thinking that sentence, as if every part of his being yelled at him for even considering the thought of either of them being weak.

"You will however, refer to me as Mr. Atem." Said the tall figure, a smile on his face, he took a step back, allowing the shorter figure to take charge, "My name is Yugi, please call me Mr. Yugi," He said politely, "I hope we can all have a wonderful year together." He said, before taking a step back to stand next to Atem.

"And now, here are the teachers who shall be guiding you this coming year." He said, raising an arm, he swung it down, instantly more spotlights came down on multiple figures behind him, though there were four figures who stood in front of them as well.

One seemed to exude a playful presence, a smile etched on his face, he had brown hair and wore a red jacket.

The other seemed to be the oldest, he seemed calm, mature, you could almost tell that behind his poker face, there was an intense amount of skill, his hair was black with orange stripes running through them, he also had a similar orange line tattooed on his face, right under his left-eye.

Another one stood next to a floating blue figure, apparently sharing the spotlight. He seemed childish, playful like the brown-haired teacher, his hair was black with red spikes at the front. The blue figure however, had Yuya, and everyone else to be honest, questioning whether he was Human. He floated in the air and seemed slightly transparent, like a ghost. There were colored tattoos covering his body however, and he had an oppressive poker face etched on his face.

Suddenly, he remembered who they were.

The Brown haired man was Judai Yuki, a popular Duelist who was known for a having a strong sense of justice.

The older one was Yusei Fudo, he took a look at Yugo, he had already figured it out and was on the verge of freaking out. Yusei was an Idol to those who wanted to master D-Wheels anyways.

As for the last one, he was famous for having won a Duelist Tournament in his early days, there were rumors that he had saved the world once, but they were just rumors. His name was Yuma Tsukumo.

As for the blue figure, he was Yuma's partner, apparently they transform together into a single monster, with Yuma apparently controlling the monster while the blue figure helped him from behind, apparently Yuma for a period of time was unable to transform until he met the blue figure, and neither could the blue figure as well. His name was Astral.

As for the headmasters... not much was known about them, all they knew in advance was that they didn't wish to stand out, and apparently stayed at the school.

There were also a huge amount of other teachers behind them, Yuya recognized a few, but there were too many, so he gave up trying to name all of them.

"As of today, these people will be the ones who guide you," Said Atem, his voice almost booming, "With that, let us all have a great year!" He yelled, before snapping his fingers, causing a bright light to envelope the room.

In an instant, the stage was empty.

_Later..._

"Well..." Yuya said as he walked out of the auditorium with his brothers and the girls, "That was... something." He said. "I dont know how to describe it..." Said Serena, shaking her head, "It was... incredible? I dunno..." She said, shaking her head.

"Well enough about that," Said Ruri, "Remember, we have to get to homeroom now!" Ruri reminded them, pointing out the fact that school had now officially started. "R-Right!" Said Yuya, looking at his papers, "So... where are you guys going?" He asked as they all checked their schedules.

"Apparently i'm in class A5..." Said Yuto.

"Oh hey! Same here!" Said Yugo.

"Damn, now I have to spend even more time with Fusion..." Grumbled Yuri, implying he was also, in A5.

"Wow... i'm also in A5..." Said Ruri, a look of suprise on her face.

"Oh come on! I have to be with Yugo!?" Yelled Rin, Yugo stuck his tongue out at her, she returned the gesture.

"...This is way too coincidental..." Said Serena, holding up her paper, revealing her homeroom class to be A5.

"I'm... also A5..." Said Yuya, as suprised as everyone else, "Maybe its because we're in the same dorm?" He pointed out.

"Well... i'm also A5..." Said Yuzu, smiling at Yuya, Yuya beamed, "That's great!" He said.

He quickly blushed as everyone looked at his considerably more excited reaction to hearing Yuzu be in his class. "W-We all get to spend time together now! That's great!" He said, "Nice recovery..." Said Yuri under his breath.

"Come on guys, this is great!" Said Yuto, agreeing with Yuya, "Besides, we should be more excited! It's our first homeroom class! You know what that means?" He asked, grinning widely. Yugo's face suddenly lit up, Yuri grinned as well.

Today was the day they first transformed into monsters.

* * *

"Alright! Hey everyone!" Yelled out a voice as everybody sat down, "Welcome! Let's have a great year, this'll be great!" He said, the optimism pouring out of his voice.

Once everyone sat down, he stood next to the whiteboard, grinning. "The name's Yuma! And I SHOULD say that it's Mr. Yuma to you guys, but I don't like it!" He said, a grin still etched on his face, "Just call me Yuma and we'll be set!" He said, suddenly the blue figure from the ceremony flew through the wall right next to him, "Yuma, your optimism is going to make them think you are weird." He said bluntly, Yuma sweatdropped as he said that.

Yuma cleared his throat, "*Ahem, Hello, my name is Yuma, and that is what you guys can call me..." He said, trying to sound professional, Astral looked like he was about to facepalm, "Want me to take over?" He asked, Yuma looked at him as though he was the saviour of the world. "YES, PLEASE." He begged.

Astral sighed, "Hello class, my name is Astral, and you may refer to me as such," He said calmly, "I'm sure you've already found out who this is." He said, gesturing to his partner, Yuma laughed nervously. "I'm sure you all are excited to unlock your first transformations, so we shouldn't wait much longer." He said, floating over to a door on the other side of the classroom. "Through this door is a way into the outside, once you transform, you are free to roam the island for a certain distance," He said, "We will collect you when it is time to return." He said, Yuma walked over and opened the door. "Well what are ya waiting for?" He asked, "Let's get outside and start!"

Everyone poured outside, everyone was excited about their first transformation, even if it wasn't strong, which a lot weren't expecting, it was still a big moment for them.

When they got outside, they saw a basket filled with Duel Disks next to a green-haired girl, "Oh, hey Kotori!" Yuma yelled, waving, she smiled and waved back, "That there is my assistant, she's the best!" He said fondly.

Astral began explaining what the disks did, "In the old days, becoming a duelist was incredibly hard, and also dangerous. "He said grimly, "Even if you had the power to become a duelist, there was a good chance that the process in fully unlocking your powers would kill you..." He said.

However, since then we have developed these..." He said as Kotori picked up a Duel Disk, "We've obtained the ability to draw out the strength of a duelist without any risk to their life." He said, smiling. "You won't need these after you transform unless you have trouble manifiesting your power even afterwards." He said, "And that is a problem that can be easily resolved." He said to the class. "Now, the problem with some when unlocking their powers, is that sometimes, the monster will take over and cause the person to go berserk." He warned.

"Which is why we're doing this one at a time!" Said Yuma, "Now grab a duel disk and line up!" He said, at which point everyone dashed for the basket to grab a disk, though they all had different models, they were all basically the same, Yuya grabbed a red one and strapped it to his left arm, and dashed for the line.

"Now, in the event of someone losing control," Astral said, do not worry, you have me and Yuma here, and we can easily subdue whatever monster may come out." They reassured. "Let's do this Astral!" Yuma said, extending his hand, Astral grinned, "You and me, partner!" He exclaimed, firmly shaking his hand, and in an instant, they seemed to merge together.

_"Come Forth! Number 39! Hope!"_ They yelled as light surrounded them, when the light died down, in their place was a giant, armored warrior, clad in yellow and white with a green orb in its chest, there were two blades in scabbards by its waist, and it had wings resembling angel wings on their back.

"See?" Said a voice belonging to Yuma from the warrior, "We'll handle it fine, now, one at a time, starting with the first in line..." He said, "Press the button that says "Release" on it.

A girl who had gotten to the front of the line gulped and looked down at her disk, her hands shaking, she pressed the button.

Suddenly, she was surrounded by light as a glowing card appeared in front of her, it stayed there for a moment, before turning to energy and flowing into the girl's chest.

She glowed bright orange, and her body began to change shape.

The light finally died down, and in her place, was a blue-haired female with a green creature that resembled a crocodile next to her.

"My name... is Eria... Eria the Water Charmer!" She said confidently, looking down at her new body.

A series of claps were heard as she ran around, nearly tripping as she got used to her new body. "Man... I can't wait!" Said Yugo from behind Yuya, their excitement reaching peak levels.

More students began to unlock their forms, there was only one incident where a boy transformed into an Alexandrite Dragon and went berserk, he attempted to attack some of the students but in a flash, Hope had appeared in front of them, "Moonlight Shield!" He yelled out as one of his wings extended and changed into a large barrier between him and the dragon's claws.

The dragon's attack bounced off the shield and he recoiled, he was about to make another attack before suddenly Yuma had tackled him to the ground.

"Get it together!" He said, slapping the dragon in the face. He blinked twice.

"H-Huh?"

"Alrighty, everything's fine now!" Yuma yelled back at the students, they all cheered as Yuma helped the boy up, "S-Sorry..." He said, his head drooped, Yuma smiled, "Ah relax, nothing to worry about!" He said, now that you've gotten yourself together, go have fun!" He said, patting the dragon on the back, the dragon smiled in return, "Thank's Mr. Yuma..." He said, before he ran off to try and figure out how to fly.

Before long, it was Yuya's turn.

"Alright, you ready?" Yuma asked, "Wait!" Yuya said, suprising Yuma, "I-I want to ask a favor..." He said, looking him in the green-eyes of Yuma's form. "I-Is it okay if I can transform... with my brothers?" He asked, the said siblings, who were standing behind him, nodded.

"We've... always wanted to do our first transformation together, you know?" He said, looking at the giant warrior standing above them.

"Hmm... I really shouldnt..." He said, placing a hand to his chin, "Eh, why not!" He said, "Go ahead, knock yourselves out!" He said cheerfully.

"Alright!" Yugo yelled, running up to Yuya, "This is great!" He exclaimed, grinning widely, Yuto smiled, "Nice thinking Yuya." He said, Yuri just grinned. "Alright everyone, on three..." Yuya said, placing his finger on the button, his brothers did the same.

"Three!" Said Yuto.

"Two!" Said Yugo.

"...One." Said Yuri, a little more embarassed about yelling out then the others.

"Go!" Yelled Yuya.

They all pressed the button.

* * *

It was all a flash, suddenly they all glowed, Yuto glowed blue, Yugo glowed green, Yuri glowed purple, and Yuya glowed red.

Then suddenly, he was in a dark room.

Standing in front of him was a large figure, it wasn't human... no, it was a dragon.

It came out of the shadows, it was a large, red dragon with a yellow beak, it had two horns on it's back and a great big blue orb at it's chest, it's arms weren't "small" exactly, but it's legs were much larger, it seemed to be good at running, and it had a long red tail with spikes at it's end, it was covered in red scales.

But what entranced Yuya the most, was it's eyes.

It's eyes shone and glimmered even in the dark place they were in, it's right eye was a bright red, while the left eye was a bright green.

"Your name... is Odd-Eyes..." Yuya said softly, reaching his hand out and caressing the side of the beast's head, it purred in delight. "Odd-Eyes Dragon... that's your name!" He exclaimed, the dragon roared in delight, giving him a big lick on the face, seemingly laughing.

"How about it?" Yuya said after wiping away the dragon drool, "Wanna be my partner?" He said, extending his hand out at the dragon.

It let out a loud roar, before it kneeled down and placed it's forehead in Yuya's hand, closing it's eyes and accepting the boy in front of him.

The room suddenly filled with a bright light, suddenly they seemed to be standing on water, pure water, perfectly reflecting a bright, blue sky above them.

Yuya glowed, as did Odd-Eyes, and the light enveloped them both.

* * *

Yuya opened his eyes, he felt stronger, bigger, and powerful. He looked around, he found himself at around the same size as Yuma, who had stepped back in shock, he looked around him, searching for his brothers.

It wasn't hard to find them.

Everyone nearby stopped running around and stared at the four.

Yuya could tell which ones were which.

"Yuto...? Yugo? Yuri?" He said, looking at the forms they had taken, Yuto had become a dragon with pitch-black scales, it's neck was long, as well as it's tail, which had two spikes on the end, His chest seemed powerfully armored, and his wings seemed almost mechanical, there were purple orbs placed around it's wings.

Yugo had transformed into a large, white dragon, it had no legs, but floated above the ground easily, it's arms were large and it had large, glowing, clear wings that seemed to let out a constant source of light.

Yuri had become a Purple-green dragon that resembled a carnivorous plant, heck, it even seemed part plant.

"Whoa..." Said Yugo, "look at us!" He exclaimed, even Yuri looked suprised at his transformation. "We're AWESOME!" He yelled out, flying up into the air and doing multiple flips and barrel rolls before crashing back down into the ground. "Oof..." He groaned, "I'll get used to it eventually..." He said while Yuri helped him up.

"Wow..." Said Yuto, moving around, "This is amazing!" He said, "Yuya look at yourself! Look at me! Look at Yuri! Look at Yugo!" He said, excitement taking hold. "Sensei, look!" Yuto said, deciding to refer to Yuma as "Sensei".

Yuma snapped out of his trance, as did Kotori who was just as suprised as she looked at the beasts that had appeared in front of them. "Wow, that's amazing!" He yelled out, "It's just like my first transformation! Believe it or not, this was my first Duel Monster!" He said, pointing his thumbs at himself. "Well what are you waiting for?" He said, "Go have fun!"

"Alright!" Yelled Yugo, before taking off again. "Be careful!" Yuto yelled, flying after him, "Well, those two can go tire eachother out..." Said Yuri, who floated towards a patch of greenery, "I'm tired, wake me up when something important happens..." He said, setting down and promptly falling asleep. Yuya was still amazed at his own transformation, and was currently examining every bit of him that he could see. He was sure that his brothers were just as suprised with their new forms, but were handling it differently.

**Don't you just hate it when you forget to save your work past this point?**

"Yuya!" Yelled a voice from below him, he looked down and saw a purple skinned girl with wings that resembled a Harp, her outfit was prominent with music notes, "Oh! Hello... you're...?" Yuya asked, the girl laughed, "Yuya it's me! Yuzu!" She said, smiling. Yuya's face brightened, "Oh! Hey Yuzu!" He said cheerily. "Nice transformation!" He said, Yuzu blushed as he said that, "T-Thanks..." She said, "My name in this form is Aria, Aria the Melodious Diva!" She said, doing a little twirl.

"But enough about me Yuya!" She said, "Look at you! It's incredible!" She said, gazing at him in awe, "Can... can I feel you?" She asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

Yuya was already red in his form, so you wouldnt be able to tell, but he was blushing, "O-Oh uh, sure!" He said nervously, kneeling down so she could reach him.

She began examining him, the first thing she noticed was the blue orb that made up his chest, "Hmm... I wonder what this is for..." She wondered aloud, she took a look at his legs, "Hmm, seems like you'd be good at running and maneuverability on land..." She said, before she moved up to his head. "Wow..." She said out loud as she looked into his eyes, "Your eyes are so pretty..." She said, before she snapped out of the daze she had put herself in by staring into his heterochromatic eyes.

She had a single thought, a single curious thought of "What if I did this...?"

She scratched Yuya's neck, similarly to how one would rub the neck of a smaller animal. Yuya's dragon form let out a low purr, blood rushed to Yuya's face as he quickly took his head away in embarassment. Yuzu laughed, "You know, you look like such a powerful beast..." She said to him, "But at the same time, I can't help but feel like the look of your dragon form is cute in some way!" She said, laughing. Yuya was glad his natural color masked the heavy blush on his face.

Yuzu suddenly realized what she had been doing and blushed, "O-Oh! S-Sorry!" She said, backing away, "I should have kept mind of your personal space, i'm sorry!" She said, her head down.

"N-No, it's fine!" Yuya smiled nervously, "Thanks..." She said.

"Hey! I have an idea!" Yuya said, trying to cheer her up, "Why don't we go for a ride?" He asked enthusiastically, Yuzu lifted her head to look at him, "Huh? What do you mean?" She asked, looking him in the eyes.

"Well, I should probably run around to get used to my new body," Yuya explained, "And I thought, why not come with me?" He asked her again. Yuzu thought for a moment before she decided, "Sure! Sounds like fun!" She said, smiling. Yuya grinned as she jumped and used her wings to float onto his back. "Hey, where are your sisters?" He asked as she grabbed onto the horns he had on his back.

"Oh them?" Yuzu responded, "I saw Rin and Ruri fly after Yugo and Yuto before I came up to you," She answered, "Ruri became a monster called Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow, and Rin apparently became a monster called Windwitch - Glass Bell," She said, informing him of what they transformed into, "Serena became a monster called Lunalight Blue Cat apparently, and is now jumping around to get used to her new strength." She said. Yuya looked up to see his two brothers, flying around in the air, alongside them was a creature that looked part-human and part-bird, flying around the the black dragon, Yuto.

Next to Yugo was presumeably Rin, her form was still mostly human, she had a hair color similar to her regular hair except a little more "blue", She flew around like a witch on what looked like a broom, except the stick was made of glass, and instead of a regular broom end, there was a large bell instead, she indeed looked like a witch, as she had a typical witch hat on her had to top it all off.

Yuya looked around and saw a blue cat-humanoid figure jumping around everybody, he presumed that was Serena.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Yuzu asked, "Let's go!" She yelled, Yuya smiled. "Alright then!" He yelled as he began to run, he jumped and began running into the forest, dodging trees as he ran. "Woohoo!" They both yelled as Yuya ran.

They rode around for a good amount of time until Yuya finally tired out, they stopped at a large cliffside with a nice view of the ocean, where Yuya promptly sat down to catch his _**breath.**_ "Whew! Wow!" He panted as Yuzu disembarked him, "Yuya, you are crazy fast on the ground!" Yuzu said as she sat down against him, "thanks!" He said, panting.

"Wow..." Said Yuzu, looking out past the cliff, "this place has a really nice view..." She said, gazing out at the ocean, "I bet it's even better when there's a sunset..." She said dreamily, imagining what it would look like if she watched the sunset from here. "You know what?" Yuya said, grinning "You're probably right..." He said, agreeing with her.

They sat there for a while, just listening to the ocean crash against the island beneath them.

It was nice, and Yuya wished that moment would last forever, as did Yuzu.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

"Hey... what's that?" Yuzu asked, looking up at the sky, Yuya looked up at the sky, everything seemed normal, "where?" He asked, she pointed at the sky, Yuya followed her finger, squinting his eyes to try and find whatever it was Yuzu was seeing.

He noticed a single black dot in the sky, "...Yeah, what is that...?" He said, standing up to see farther, the black dot was getting bigger.

Wait. No it isnt getting bigger.

Yuya's eyes widened, it was getting _closer._

"Yuzu get on." He said quickly, "Huh?" She said confused, "Get on NOW!" He yelled, turning to her. She quickly mounted him, Yuya began sprinting at full speed away from the cliff.

It didn't matter.

* * *

Yuto and Yugo had just landed, Yugo was still bickering with Rin, and Ruri had gotten tired of flying and had decided to rest on Yuto's back, when they heard a large crash echo throughout the island, as well as a light tremor which they all felt.

Yuri, who was, like everyone else, still in his monster form, rose from where he was napping, "What was that..." He said, clearly annoyed. Suddenly, Yuma flew in carrying a bunch of students transformed, he seemed to be in a rush.

"Everybody get inside!" He yelled as Ms. Kotori opened the door, a series of students who were on the small side poured in. "Sir, some of us can't fit through the door..." Said Yugo.

_"Yuma, we don't have time to teach them how to revert yet." _Said Astral from inside Yuma's head, Yuma groaned, "Yeah I know!" He yelled, flying back over to the classroom and reverting back to his human form, he quickly entered the building, Astral followed him.

Five seconds passed.

Suddenly there was a flash of light, and suddenly Yuma had transformed back into Hope and kicked a hole in the wall from the inside, "I'll fix it later, GET IN." He said, the three brothers sweatdropped as they thought about the absurdity of him simply "fixing" the giant hole in the wall.

Nevertheless, all of the larger duelists squeezed into the large hall that was their classroom.

"Hey wait..." Said Yuri, who was being shoved against the wall, "Where's Yuya?" He asked, Yuma, who was looked like he was about to fly away, froze.

"...Crap" Said Yuma as he looked behind him and saw only three of the large dragons in the room.

* * *

Yuya groaned, he was still in his form as a dragon, he was laying on the ground, rubble laid around him, he heard somebody laughing.

He slowly got up, "Yuzu?" He asked, looking around, he saw the girl next to him, she was concious, but just barely, she was covered in bruises and dirt and had also ended up reverting back to her human form.

**Fun little fact about DuelistsIf they take damage to the point where they can no longer fight, they revert back to their human forms, unable to keep their monster forms up.**

"Hey, Yuzu!" He said, nudging her with his beak, "Wake up!" He said, the girl's eyes opened a little more, "Yu... Ya?" She said, becoming fully concious. "What happened?" She said, Yuya shook his head, "I-I dont know..." He said, letting the girl use his head as a way to help herself onto her feet. "It was so sudden, more importantly, are you okay?" He said, concern in his eyes.

"Y-Yes, i'm fine..." She said, "How about you?" She asked, rubbing his beak, Yuya chuckled, "Well i'm still like this, arent I?" He pointed out, Yuzu chuckled, "I guess that's true." She said.

Yuya's attention was grabbed by the sound of a man laughing, he turned around to see a large man standing in the middle of a crater, he had purple hair done up in a mohawk, he wore clothing that screamed "punk" in every way, he was laughing heartily. "So the barrier WAS down!" He yelled, he continued laughing, "Barrier? What's he talking about" He asked Yuzu. "Don't you know?" Yuzu said, "This entire island has a magical barrier around it, you can only get in if you have permission, if you don't, it's like hitting a concrete wall." She explained, "It's invisible, so you can't really notice it until it hits you," She explained, "But there's no way it could be down..." She said quietly.

"Hm?" Said the man, taking notice of the two nearby, "Well well well, my first victims!" He said, grinning maliciously, Yuzu took a step back, fear prominent in her face, Yuya quickly stood in front of her, _"Use my tail, climb on as quickly as you can." _He whispered, before growling at the man, he was now walking towards them. Except his eyes widened as he realized who it was, he had seen him on the news.

"Congratulations Kid!" He yelled out, a glowing orange card materialized, floating in the palm of his hand. "You get to be the first victim of Strong Ishijima today!" He yelled out, grasping the card in his fist, he began to glow a bright orange color as he began to increase in size.

Yuzu climbed up onto Yuya's back, only to see the man growing in size, covered in an orange light. Yuya gulped, Yuzu held back a scream.

"Come forth! Battleguard King!" He yelled, as the light dissipated from his body. His form was now that of a large ogre-like monster, his skin was a dark red, and was clad in gray armor, a blue gem embedded in the chestplate, his eyes glowed a sinister yellow, and he wore a large helmet with absurdly long horns adorning it. As if his large arms werent already a hazard to one's life, he also held a large club behind his back.

"A Terror-Duelist..." Yuya muttered as he stared up at the giant beast, a criminal duelist, the eternal enemy of regular Duelists, who used the ability to transform in order to do whatever they liked, rob, hurt, kidnap, even kill.

Yuya gulped, he did not see his first battle as a duelist to be like this.

"Yuya RUN!" Screamed Yuzu, she didn't need to tell him twice, he immediately turned around and dashed away from the giant beast, Yuzu held onto him as tightly as possible. "You think you can escape!?" Boomed the voice of Strong Ishijima, though it was considerably deeper now that he was transformed. "Why, of all days, did THIS have to happen!" Yelled Yuya as he ran, he looked behind him, his eyes widened.

The giant monster was pretty much on top of him.

"Crap!" Yuya yelled, quickly jumping out of the way before the giant club he wielded crashed down on him, he saw the ground break as the club collided with it. "What the... why's he so fast!?" He exclaimed as he began to run again, the Criminal Duelist grinned evilly, "That's simple kid!" He yelled as he spat out three fireballs at the dragon, who quickly moved to dodge.

"I'm a Duelist who's been dueling for years!" He yelled, "I have more experience and strength than you'll ever have!" He said, suddenly appearing in front of the boy, Yuya quickly jumped away before he was crushed by a giant foot. Yuya cursed as he landed, "Seems we have no choice but to fight..." He said, Yuzu gulped, agreeing. "I guess it's time to duel...!" He said, before he charged at the giant beast.

"Oh?" Said Ishijima, raising his club, "Then bring it kid!" He yelled, swinging his club at the dragon, Yuya quickly jumped into the air to dodge the attack, "Let's go...!" He said as he hung in midair, _"Pleaseworkpleaseworkpleasework...!" _He thought as he mustered up energy into his mouth, "Flame Strike!" He yelled as he shot a large fireball at the large ogre, it collided with the giant beast's face. However he seemed unfazed.

"As if that's enough to take me down!" He yelled, hoisting his club up and swinging it at the dragon, Yuya quickly shot another fireball at the beast's eyes, blinding him temporarily and causing him to miss his swing as Yuya came back down to earth. "Argh! Damn you!" He yelled, rubbing his eyes in pain. "Now's my chance...!" Yuya said, gathering up energy once more.

The blue orb in his chest began to glow with magical power, his eyes flashed as flames gathered in his mouth. _**"Spiral Flame!" **_He yelled, letting out a stream of spiraling flames at the beast, a look of panic filled his face as he opened his eyes only to see the flames spiraling towards him.

They heard a scream of pain as the flames struck him, engulfing the beast in flames. "Did we do it?" Yuzu asked, still holding onto the dragon for dear life.

"I... I think so..." Yuya said softly, "We... We did it!" He yelled out, letting out a roar of triumph.

Suddenly, Battleguard King was in front of him.

A look of terror filled Yuzu's face, Yuya's jaw dropped, he didn't have enough time to move out of the way, so he did the next best thing. He quickly threw Yuzu off of him as the giant club descended on him.

Yuzu could only watch as the club crashed onto the dragon's body, he let out a roar of pain as he was crushed into the ground.

Everything went dark.

* * *

Yuya was laying down on his back, he didn't know where he was, he opened his eyes and recognized where he was.

This was where he met Odd-Eyes.

The sky was just as blue as they were before, except the pure-white clouds seemed to be turning gray, Yuya looked to his side, he saw the dragon he had bonded with laying on the ground next to him, he was covered in injuries. "Odd-Eyes...!" He yelled out, trying to get up, only to collapse again, realizing he too, was injured. The dragon let out a sad groan as they looked at eachother.

"Is... Is this it?" He said out loud, "This can't be how it ends..." He said, tears forming in his eyes, "I can't let it end like this!" He yelled out, the dragon roared along with weakly with him, as though he was agreeing.

_"Is that true?"_

Yuya lifted his head in suprise, he looked around for the source of the voice, he looked at Odd-Eyes, the dragon shook it's head at him, it wasn't him.

_"Are you determined to make sure it doesn't end?"_

It was a different voice this time, they were both male voices, but he didn't know where they were coming from.

_"Are you determined to protect the ones you love?"_

_"Determined to become strong enough to defeat the ones who dare threaten you?" _

**_"Answer us."_**

They're voices boomed through the space surrounding them, Yuya gulped, before he stood up, every part of his body ached as he forced himself to stand, his dragon did the same.

"...Yes," He said, "I am!" He yelled out, he had never felt so sure of anything in his life. Suddenly two balls of light formed in front of him, his pendant began to glow and swing, a blue light surrounded him, his wounds began to mend, the same happened to his dragon next to him.

The balls of light dissipated, revealing two magicians, staring Yuya in the eyes.

**_"Then we shall aid you on your path"_** They both boomed, before suddenly all of them began to glow, a glowing red card appeared between them, they raised their hands and shot two beams of light into the air, they combined into a single orb above them, before shooting down at the card.

Yuya felt power flow into him, his dragon reared it's head and roared as its body glowed a bright red, the card began to change colors, it glowed red, then it glowed green, then red, then green again, and so on.

_"We shall grow alongside you, helping you to become stronger." _Said one of the magicians, he wore a white cloak and held a strange staff in his hands, _"My name is Stargazer Magician, the Magician of Astromancy!" _He boomed. _"And my name is Timegazer Magician, the Magician of Chronomancy!" _Said the other Magician. _**"With our power, you shall gain the power you seek!" **_They boomed as light enveloped the space.

* * *

"Yuya..." Yuzu muttered as the giant beast lifted his club from the ground, the dragon was gone, Yuya had reverted back, his eyes were open, yet unmoving, she couldn't see his chest rise and fall as it should, when somebody is breathing. Tears formed in her eyes, she couldn't stop the fear from overtaking her mind, no matter how much she screamed at herself to be brave, to run, to do _something_. It did nothing, she was frozen in place, and all she could think about now was the beast walking closer to her, and the limp body of her best friend, her _first _friend when she came to this school.

"Yuya...! YUYA!" She screamed, panic now rising in her head, she tried to transform, she couldn't, she didn't have the energy to muster it. She tried to stand, her legs failed her almost immediately, she collapsed on the ground, her legs shaking violently. "Yuya...!" She cried, "No..."

"Don't worry little girl," Said Ishijima, raising his club, "You'll be seeing him soon." He said, a grin on his face.

Suddenly, a pillar of light exploded from the area where Yuya laid, sending a shockwave through the area, "Huh?" Said Ishijima, frozen in place as he stared at the pillar of light.

Yuma, who was flying above the island, saw the pillar, "Huh? The heck is that!?" He exclaimed, _"I... I do not know..." _Said Astral from in his head, Yuma quickly flew to check it out.

Suddenly, the pillar of light dissapeared, and in its place, was Yuya, his wounds were gone, standing tall, his pendulum swinging on his chest. "What!?" Yelled Ishijima, "That's impossible! I crushed you!" He yelled, Yuzu's eyes went wide, "Yu... Ya?" She muttered, shocked at what she was seeing.

Yuya slowly opened his eyes, "...Away from her..." He muttered, "Huh?" Said Ishijima, confused. "I said GET AWAY FROM HER!" He yelled, his eyes glowing. Yuya extended his hand, a glowing card materialized, floating in his palm, it glowed a bright red, before switching to green, to red, and to green again. "What the..." Said Ishijima, "What the hell kinda monster is that!?" He yelled, pointing at the card.

Yuya crushed the card in his hands, it dissipated into energy that flowed into Yuya's chest, "ORRYAAAAAAAAH!" He yelled as light covered his body as he transformed, Odd-Eyes Dragon stood in his place when the light disapeared, but the light quickly returned as it covered the dragon.

Yuma stared in shock as he watched, his plan was to jump in and attack the Criminal Duelist, until he saw what was going on with Yuya, he had never seen anything like it before, "Astral..." He muttered, "What is that..." He said, in awe. Yuma could hear Astral's shock in his head, _"I... I don't know, it's... something new...!" _He said, his focus completely on the red dragon before them.

Suddenly, two transparent pillars of light appeared beside him, two more cards rose from within them, both the same as before, glowing red and green. The cards exploded into light and in their place stood two spellcaster monsters, there was no duelist in sight to have transformed into them, they were just... the monsters.

"Astral?" Yuma said, expecting Astral to know what was happening this time, and this time, he was right. _"T-Those are...!" _He exclaimed, shock prominent in his voice, _"Servant Spirits! But... that's impossible!" _He exclaimed, _"I've only seen the headmasters and Judai have them!" _He exclaimed.

"Timegazer Magician, Stargazer Magician!" Yuya yelled, "Lend me your strength!" He yelled, as per his command, the two magicians extended their arms and fired beams of light at him, he let out a loud roar as the power flowed into him. His dragonic body glowed bright red, except for his eyes which glowed an even brighter red and green.

_"Dragon with dichromatic eyes, obtain the unlimited potential that is the power of pendulum!"_ Yuya yelled as his body went through another change, the horns at his back grew larger, as did his entire body, two more horns sprouted on his head, his tail grew longer and he exuded a powerful aura around him.

_"Come forth... Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" _He yelled, the light surrounding him broke into shards around him, revealing his new form, he had two new horns atop his head, and the horns on his back were much larger, on top of that, adorning his horns were more jewels, similar to the blue orb in his chest, on his right Horn, there were two green gems, and on his right was a large red gem, and adorning his forehead was another blue orb, it was much smaller, but it was there.

He was considerably bigger, and he felt stronger as well. A red aura seemed to surround him, he looked straight at the giant beast that stood above Yuzu.

"Get away... I WILL PROTECT YUZU!" He screamed, before letting out a loud roar, courtesy of his dragon form of course, nearly causing the giant beast to fall over.

"Just what..." Said Yuma.

"Is going on...?" Finished Yuzu.

**And THAT is the end of this chapter, see, just like the anime, I decide to end it right after Yuya unlocks pendulum, arent I clever?**

**Someone in the distance: No you arent!**

**Fair enough.**

**As I said before, this chapter was considerably harder to make simply because I saved at one point, wrote up to the point where Strong Ishijima is fighting Yuya, and then accidentally closed the tab.**

**I didn't remember when I saved last**

**That's never a good sign.**

**As for why I have Strong Ishijima as a villain? I just figured that would be more interesting, and considering the amount of screentime he got in Arc V, it works, at least in my opinion.**

**Also, for anybody who freaked out when Yuzu called Yuya a "Friend", DON'T PANIC, YOU DO REALIZE THESE TWO LITERALLY JUST MET TWO DAYS AGO RIGHT? Calm your butts.**

**As for the other protagonists? Oh don't worry, you'll see them soon, I plan to have all of them be prominent in the story.**

**As for Yuzu being a damsel in distress, and her and the rest of the girls getting the weak monsters of their archetypes? Don't worry, again, this is only the second chapter.**

**Anyways, i'll see you all next time! See you then!**


	3. Chapter 3: Arc of Light

**You know, in my head, this entire time the theme "Swing! Pendulum of Souls!" Has been playing in my head, and 50% of the reason is because of what i'm writing right now, and the other 50% is simply because the theme showed up in my reccomended list on Youtube for some reason, and it's stuck in my head.**

**Chapter 3: Arc of Light.**

Yuzu was shocked to say the least, Yuya's new form didn't have exactly a dramatic change, yet it had enough changes to be noticeably different.

"Damn you!" Yelled Ishijima, raising his club, "I don't know what's going on, but now your little friend is getting it!" He yelled, bringing down his club, Yuzu screamed.

Yuya's eyes flashed, "Timegazer! Stargazer!" He yelled, the two magicians immediately raised their hands, shooting beams of light at the Battleguard monster. The beams blasted the club out of his hand, Ishijima howled in pain, clutching his hand, which was now covered in burn marks. "This is it!" Yuya yelled, charging at the beast, Ishijima growled, a light formed in his undamaged hand as another club was formed. "You're all DEAD!" He yelled, raising the club into the air, it began glowing a bright yellow.

Yuya jumped into the air, the gems adorning his body began to glow, he felt flames forming in his mouth again. _Spiral Flame Strike!" _He yelled as he shot a large stream of spiraling flames at the duelist, Ishijima swung his club, _"Battleguard Crusher!" _He yelled, his glowing club colliding with the flames, blocking them. "You're still no match for me!" He yelled, though the flames continued to push him back.

_"Wrong, the moment you fought against my attack, you lost."_ Yuya thought, the gems glowing even brighter. "This is my new power, _Reaction Force!_" He yelled, the flames suddenly increased in size and heat, doubling in strength. "W-What!? Impossible!" Yelled Ishijima as the flames blasted him a good distance away, crashing into the ground.

The dust cleared as light began to envelope Ishijima, as the light died down, in its place was no longer the Battleguard King, it was now just an unconcious criminal.

Yuya let out an exhausted sigh, "...Yuzu!" He said, looking around, he saw the pinkette running towards him. "Yuzu! Are you o-" He began to say before he was cut off by her slapping his head with a paper fan, it didn't hurt much considering he was currently in the form of a dragon, but somehow he still felt the sting. Suddenly he felt her wrap her arms around his head and embrace him.

"Yuya...! You're okay!" She said, tears running down her face. "I thought you... I thought you were...!" She tried to say, but her words failed when she tried to even say the word. Yuya nuzzled her cheek, "It's okay, i'm fine..." He said, trying to calm her down. She hugged him tightly, awkwardly considering the size difference, but tightly.

"Astral..." Said Yuma, observing the boy, "I'm gonna ask you again... have you ever seen anything like that?" He said calmly, _"No, I can't say I have..." _Said Astral, a mental image of him shaking his head appeared in Yuma's mind.

"Hey Yuzu... i'm feeling a little tired..." Said Yuya, his body swaying, the magicians next to him closed their eyes and vanished, turning into light and flowing into the core in Yuya's chest. "Mind if I... rest a little...?" He said, slowly collapsing to his side, reverting back to his normal form as a human, "Yuya!" Yelled Yuzu, quickly catching him before he hit the ground.

The boy fell promptly asleep in her lap as she caught him, Yuzu blushed a bit as he fell limply onto her, she looked at his tired body, there wasnt a wound to be found, only tears and dirt here and there on his clothing.

"Yuya..." She said, holding him, "Sorry, you had to do all the work, didn't you?" She said, her eyes drooping, she fought to stay awake, but the result ended with her eyes closing, leaving her unconcious, though she stayed upright, her head drooping down as she sighed.

Yuma flew down, landing next to them, despite the loud landing, neither of them stirred. Yuma gently placed them in his arms. "...This is gonna be a long day..." He said to himself as he flew back to the classroom.

* * *

Yuma's return was greeted with three boys and three girls running at him, all worried about the children he carried in his arms, he placed his hands on the ground allowing the brothers to grab their brothers, and the sisters to grab their sister, before he reverted back to his regular form, Astral seperating from his body. "I see you taught them how to change back?" Yuma said to Kotori, she nodded, "They were complaining about having no room, so I taught them now to revert back." She said, a worried look on her face, "How are the kids you found?" She asked, looking at the commotion behind him.

"...They're fine, but something happened and... well I have a lot of stuff to explain." He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, why's Yuzu all battered up!" Yelled Serena, a worried look on her face, "Hey, Yuya's hurt as well!" Said Yugo, "Actually no..." Said Yuto, examining the younger brother, "He's dirty, yes, but he's not hurt at all..." He said, a shocked look on his face.

Yuma jumped up on a table, "Everyone back to your dorms! Class is dismissed! Go straight to your dorms!" He yelled, directing students out the door, he walked over to the group of eight behind him, "Do you need any help getting them to their dormitories?" He asked, the black haired boy shook his head, "No sir, we all live in the same dorm," He said, a look of suprise appearing on Yuma's face, "We'll handle this, we have medicine back at the dorms right?" He said, adressing the girls, they all nodded.

They group began to carry their respective sibling's out the door, the black haired boy turned to look at Yuma. "Thank you sir." He said before they rushed out of the classroom with their bags and unconcious siblings.

Yuma slumped into a seat, Kotori sat down next to him.

"Well, that was a great way to start the year..." He said sarcastically.

* * *

Yuya groaned, slowly opening his eyes, he felt like he had been run over by a truck. He looked around him, recognizing his room in the dorms, "What... happened..." He asked himself.

He looked to his side, noticing Yuzu kneeling next to his bed, her head was resting on the bed, sound asleep, she had a bandage wrapped around her forehead, and even more bandages on her arms and legs, and likely more under her shirt, yet despite her obvious injuries, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He noticed on her hand a bracelet with a pink gem attatched to it, he didn't know why, but he felt a strong sense of Deja-Vu when he stared at it.

Yuya smiled, placing a hand on her head and caressing it, despite the injuries, it calmed him to know that she was alive, that he had managed to save her.

Yuzu began to stir, her eyes opening slowly, "hm... Yuya?" She muttered, raising her head to look at him, she didn't react at the sight of Yuya sitting up in bed.

Scratch that, she did react, just a little late.

"Y-Yuya!" She yelled, jumping up, "Y-You're awake!" She yelled, a look of suprise on her face, Yuya smiled at her, "Nice delayed reaction Yuzu!" He teased, Yuzu's face flushed, "S-Shut up!" She said, lightly smacking him, Yuya laughed, causing Yuzu to smack him more.

"Ha... man, how long was I out?" He said, suddenly Yuzu's face went deadly serious. "Three years." She said bluntly.

"Wait, what?" Yuya said, worry spreading through his face.

"...pfft..." Yuzu grunted, her cheeks puffing up as though she was trying to contain laughter as if she had just heard the best joke she had ever heard in her entire life, Yuya raised an eyebrow, "...Yuzu?" He said, scooching closer to her, Yuzu suddenly burst out laughing.

Yuya let out a sigh of relief, she was just joking with him, though she wasn't good at keeping a decent poker face very long apparently. "Okay Yuzu, very funny." He said, accepting the fact that she had fooled him for a bit. "How long have I actually been out?" He said as Yuzu calmed down, wiping away the tears that had formed while she had laughed.

"Ha... just three days..." She said, her face calm now, "Three days!?" He yelled, jumping out of bed, "What about classes!?" He yelled, Yuzu quickly grabbed him and pushed him back onto the bed. She sat next to him, "Relax Yuya, classes are cancelled for the week, it's generally what happens when the equivalent of a terrorist attack happens." She said, calming Yuya down a bit.

"Although, it might have been longer if it werent for you you know," She said, "Even though we got an email from the school a day later that scolded us for being 'reckless'" She said, upset clearly in her voice, _"What else were we supposed to do... we couldn't get away..." _She said quietly before continuing with her explanation. "We were also given thanks, because our actions not only stopped the attack, but also kept the area of damage in the general area where he landed." She stated, "Damages were only to the environment, except for our classroom which apparently our teacher blasted a hole in." She said, Yuya gave her a confused look, she returned it.

"On top of that, nobody was injured," She said, a smile on her face, "I mean, except for me." She said, chuckling lightly. Yuya gave her a small smile, though he couldn't help but feel responsible for that.

"Where's everyone else?" Yuya asked, "Downstairs last I checked," She said, "Do you wanna go see them?" She asked, Yuya nodded his head, she helped him up, Yuya noticed he was in white pajamas with green stripes, "Who changed me..." He asked, "Your brothers did while I was unconcious..." She said, a small blush appearing on her face at the question.

They opened the door to hear the sounds of yelling from the game-room, he heard his brothers chanting "YUGO! YUGO! YUGO!" As loud as they could, similarly, he heard Yuzu's sisters chanting "Rin! Rin! Rin! Rin!" Also from the gameroom. Yuya and Yuzu gave eachother looks of concern, before quietly stepping down the stairs, they peered into the gameroom as not to be noticed, what they saw caused Yuya to nearly double over, and Yuzu's face to start glowing a bright pink.

The boys and girls had formed a circle around Yugo and Rin, who were currently sitting across from eachother on the ground, their knees touching eachothers, and their faces shockingly close.

They peered in a little closer, Yuzu's face deepening in color, they realized exactly what they were doing.

They were playing the pocky game.

The. Freaking. _Pocky_. Game.

Life as usual in Deluxe Dorm No.5 (Yes that was it's official name)

**Seinfield Theme plays from somewhere.**

Yugo and Rin's faces both screamed "Why am I doing this!?" And "Oh god his/her face is way too close."

Rin's face was bright red, either from embarassment, rage, or a mixture of both, Yuya's money was on the mixture, Yugo meanwhile, was sweating up a storm, he gulped and took a little more of the _Pocky_ stick into his mouth, his lips were a hair away from Rin's, Yuya heard Yuri yell at the boy, "Come on you _CHICKEN"_ He yelled, Yugo lifted his hand up and flipped off the purple-haired boy, Yuto could hardly hold in his laughter.

"Come on Rin you can do it!" Said Serena, her face filled with excitement while Ruri had her hands up to her face, which was a dark shade of red. "Just kiss him already!" She yelled, the color of Ruri's face darkened even more as the words poured out of Serena's mouth, Rin's face went a brighter shade of red, as did Yuzu's, who along with Yuya, still hadn't been noticed, Yuya's jaw had dropped in shock, he could hardly believe his eyes, yet it was definitely happening, he wasn't dreaming, _Yugo and Rin are literally about to kiss, whether they wanted to or not._

Yugo looked Rin in the eyes, clearly nervous, he gave a slight nod of his head, Rin's eyes widened and she gave a tiny shake of her head, panic on her face, Yugo gave a tiny nod once more, Rin shook her head again, Yugo nodded, Rin shook her head, nod, shake, nod, shake, nod nod, shake shake.

Suddenly, Yugo pushed his head forward, roughly connecting the two's lips, Rin's eyes widened into a look that screamed "Whyyyyyyyyyyyy" as a small tear formed in the corner of her eye, the screaming stopped immediately, everyone's eyes widened, Ruri nearly fainted, Yuto seemed to have temporarily stopped breathing, Yuri looked like his eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets, and Serena looked like she skipped a heartbeat, meanwhile Yuya's jaw _actually_ hit the ground, his eyes as wide as Yuri's, and Yuzu let out a tiny squeal that only Yuya could hear.

"F-Fifteen seconds!" Serena yelled, "We agreed that if you kissed you did it for at least f-fifteen seconds!" She said, starting the timer on her phone, though it was at least three seconds late.

One second passed, Yugo gulped.

Two seconds passed, Rin's eyes began to close.

Three seconds passed, Rin's eyes fully closed, seemingly accepting her fate.

Four seconds passed, Yugo did the same.

Five seconds passed, Yugo's arms unconciously wrapped around Rin's body.

Six seconds passed, Rin's arms did the same.

Seven seconds passed, they would never admit it for a long time, but they leaned in a little closer.

Eight seconds passed, Yuya could have sworn he saw the movement of tongue in their mouths.

Nine seconds passed, Yugo realized that the pocky made her mouth taste a lot like chocolate.

Ten seconds passed, Yuri realized that these seconds seemed suprisingly long.

Eleven seconds passed, Rin moaned, Ruri _actually _fainted.

Twelve seconds passed, Yugo's brain functions slowly started shutting down as he entered a "state of bliss"

Thirteen seconds passed, the author was running out of ideas

Fourteen seconds passed, Rin moaned again, Yuzu had to hold onto Yuya in order to keep herself from falling.

Fifteen seconds passed.

The timer went off on Serena's phone, snapping her out of her daze, "T-Times up!" She stuttered, looking shocked, both she and Yuri betted that one of them would chicken out, but they didn't.

Suprisingly enough, it was the complete and utter opposite.

_They kept kissing._

Nobody said anything, they didn't dare to, it was complete silence.

_Twenty-five seconds passed._

Finally, _finally _they seperated, a trail of saliva connecting their lips, their faces red and gasping for air. Rin's eyes suddenly shot open, she shoved Yugo away from her, her face a brighter red, "WHY'D YOU KEEP KISSING!?" She screamed, Yugo got up quickly and yelled back, "WHY'D I KEEP KISSING!? WHY'D _YOU _KEEP KISSING!?" He screamed, his face the same shade of red.

"I DID IT BECAUSE YOU KEPT KISSING!" She screamed, a glimmer forming in the corner of both her eyes, Yugo yelled back, "wha- I DID IT BECAUSE _YOU _KEPT KISSING!" He yelled.

"WELL MAYBE I KEPT KISSING BECAUSE I ENJOYED IT!" Rin screamed, tears now streaming down her face, Serena, Yuri, and Yuto gasped, Ruri continued to stay unconcious, "WELL WHY DID YOU ENJOY IT!?" He screamed, "YOU HATE MY GUTS DONT YOU!? ACT LIKE IT!" He screamed, suddenly his face changed, no longer angry, but more... scared... suprised.

"R-Rin?" He said, looking at the girl, her hands were up to her mouth, tears stram down her face, she ran off, covering her eyes. "R-Rin! Wait!" He said, yelling after her, she passed by Yuya and Yuzu without even noticing them, running up the stairs and into her room. Yugo reached an arm out at her, he took a step before his legs suddenly froze in place, he lowered his arm, looking dejected.

Yuya leaned in nervously, "Did... did I wake up at a bad time?" He asked, trying to lighten the mood, Yuto and Yuri's eyes widened when they saw him, "Yuya!" They both yelled, running up to him, Yugo stared at him in shock, "Yuya..." He muttered in disbelief, "How you... how you doing?" He said quietly, a smile on his face, though his eyes screamed otherwise.

"I'm doing fine Yugo, thanks." He said kindly, Yugo smiled, before he turned his head down and began to walk past him, he placed a hand on his shoulder, "Good to see you're up again..." He said, though his mind seemed elsewhere. "Yugo..." Yuya said as Yugo slowly walked up the stairs and into his own room, shutting the door behind him.

"Well..." Yuto said, a nervous smile on his face, "Not the best welcome back in the world, but hey!" He said, trying to change the subject, "Let's focus on the bright side eh? Yuzu told us about what happened you guys were attacked, mind giving us some more details? Maybe show off your new form?" He said, "But what about Yugo?" Yuya asked, looking nervously at the door into Yugo's room, Yuto gave a sad frown, "We'll have to talk to him about what just... happened," He said, "but for now, lets give him some space.." He said.

"I shouldnt' have brought up the pocky game in the first place..." Serena said sadly, "I found out that Rin had feelings for Yugo a little after Yuya and Yuzu well..." She said, hesitating, "Sort of almost died..." She said, getting the words out. "When I found out about those feelings, I tried to help push them together, I thought I could play matchmaker..." She said, looking down, "Now that I think about it, this was going too fast, I should have let their relationship grow naturally..." She said, leaning back against the couch. "I really screwed things over now, haven't I?" She said, regret etched onto her face.

"Wait, you brought it up?" Yuya asked, Serena smiled, though she still looked upset, "Yeah, sorry about causing all this drama when you just woke up," She said, apologizing, "Oh don't worry about it!" Yuya said, waving his hands, "It's just that I honestly expected Yuri to be the one to bring up the idea..." He said, looking at Yuri. Yuri grinned, "If I knew about the romance beginning to blossom, I probably would have just gotten out spin-the-bottle," He stated, "I happen to be _especially _good at spinning it at just the right strength to get it to stop where I want it to..." He said smugly. Yuzu made a mental note to never play spin-the-bottle when Yuri was around.

"Well, let's change the subject for now," Said Yuto, clapping his hands together, "there's nothing we can do about it right now, let's at least wait until tomorrow." He said, standing up. "I made a cake for when you woke up you know!" He said to his younger brother, "the plan was for us all to eat it together, but they'll get their slice tomorrow I guess!" He said, forcing out a cheerful smile to lighten the mood.

Yuya smiled as well, he was worried about Yugo, but he needed the space, so he would give it to him.

"So, Yuzu told us everything about what happened when you fought Strong Ishijima!" Yuri said, joining Yuri in changing the subject, "Mind giving us some of the details from your point of view?" He asked, leaning on his shoulder. "Of course!" Said Yuya, who began to talk about the day that was still fresh in his memory.

* * *

"Forgive me about the meeting being delayed so much," Stated Atem, who sat at the head of a large table, Yugi sitting at the other end, all of the other teachers in the academy were sitting at the sides, all of them were deadly serious. "But, we are here now, and there are some things we must discuss..." He stated, everyone tensed up.

"First, the lowering of the barrier." Stated Yugi, taking over. "The barrier was not supposed to be down at the time, so we did some investigating," He stated, "We have found evidence of..." He began to say before hesitating, Atem nodded and took over, "There is a high possibility of a _traitor _in our midst." He said, a number of gasps echoed through the room, everyone began to stare at others, Atem was quick to slam his hands on the table, bringing order back to the meeting.

"However, we shall not let this information break us," He stated, "We do not know who the traitor is, but we know that he is here, sititng among us." He stated gravely, "As we all know, we are all connected by a strong bond," He said, looking around him, "If there is a reason as to why you are doing this, if you are being blackmailed in any way, if you tell us, we can help you." He said, looking around him.

Nobody said anything.

Atem sighed, "If you truly cannot tell us, then we shall find you out anyways," He said to the room, "As well as whatever motive you may have, but if this is the case, then let us move on." He said calmly.

"Second, Strong Ishijima..." He said, some teachers leaned in as he said this, most of them were the ones who were easily irritated or battle-ready, "He is currently locked away in the holding cells underneath the island, we plan to interrogate him soon," He said, the teachers leaned back into their seats.

"And finally, one of our new transfer students, Yuya Sakaki." He said, Yuma stood up as he said this, Atem nodded at him, Yuma nodded back.

"Mr. Sakaki is in my class, and he is currently... interesting..." He said, Astral appearing next to him, "He and his brothers, who are also in our classroom, wished to unlock their first forms together," He stated, "We agreed, we didn't think much of it." He said, "But something... incredible happened." He said.

"They all transformed into incredible dragons!" Said Yuma, "And all of them a different type of monster! One was Fusion, one was Synchro, one was Xyz, and the other was Standard!" He said, a huge smile on his face, "For some reason though, they seemed familiar, both the dragons and the brothers..." He said, Astral smacked him, "Stay on topic Yuma..." He said, Yuma shook his head, "Oh! Right!" He said, returning to the topic.

"Anyways, when Strong Ishijima attacked, Yuya Sakaki and a girl named Yuzu Kurosaki happened to be right there." He said, "They couldn't escape, so they had to fight back, unfortunately Strong Ishijima was stronger and defeated them." He said grimly, "He was about to kill them when I got there, heck I thought he had already killed Yuya." He said.

"But then, something that not even Astral knew about happened..." He said, recalling the events that had happened. "Suddenly, he was fine again, he was covered in this... strange light, and he transformed again." He said, remembering the events clearly. "He summoned his Monster Card, but something was strange about it..." He said, "Standard Monster Cards glow orange, Xyz Monsters glow blue, Synchro glows green, and Fusion glows purple." He said.

"But this card didn't do that, it glowed Red and Green..." He said, "shifting between the colors, like red, then green, then red, and so on!" He said in detail. "And he used it and became the same dragon that he transformed into earlier, but, then the dragon _changed_..." He said.

"It wasn't like, unlocking another form, his dragon literally EVOLVED," He said, one of the teachers stood up suddenly, he was a blonde-haired man, his hair was up in spikes and he wore a long, flowing white jacket. "That's preposterous!" He said, Yusei stood up, "Jack, calm down." He said, Jack took his advice and sat back down. "Evolution of a specific card has never happened before!" Said Jack, "Yes, cards have evolved, but not the actual _monster_ itself!" He said, "The monster changing, and a different type of monster? Preposterous..." He said.

"Sorry Jack, but that's what happened," Said Yuma, "He said the name of his monster was called Odd-Eyes Dragon..." He said, "But when he transformed this time, he clearly called himself 'Odd-Eyes _Pendulum _Dragon'" He said, emphasizing the pendulum part, "If you don't call out the right name, you don't transform, but that was his only transformation." He said.

Atem sighed, "Enough, what happened next?" He said, Yuma nodded. "Well, as you probably know, he defeated Strong Ishijima, saving the girl's life, and stopping the attack before any major damage could be caused." He said. "As far as I know, he passed out afterwards and is currently recovering." He said.

Yugi took over, "We will look into this matter as soon as possible, in the meantime," He said, "Everyone return to your rooms, we have a long week ahead of us." He said, everyone slowly stood up and left as he said this.

One of the teachers clenched their teeth as they left, _"They know there's a traitor... I can't let them find me out..." _They thought.

* * *

Yuya sat on the balcony, the day had turned to night quickly, and there was something nice about the moon that night.

"What are you doing up here?" Said Yuzu, coming up from behind him, "Oh, hey Yuzu," He responded, "I dunno, I just wanted to think..." He said, looking up at the stars. Yuzu laid next to him, "Well, it is pretty, isn't it?" She said, gazing up at the stars with him.

"...You think Yugo and Rin will be okay?" He asked.

"...I think so, Yugo's hardheaded, and Rin's a strong girl." She said confidently.

"...I didn't think that Rin would have feelings for Yugo..." He said, Yuzu laughed.

"I figured it out early on," She said, "If she thought Yugo was just some pervert, she'd ignore him every time he entered the same room she was in." She said.

"But she didn't do that with Yugo..." Said Yuya, Yuzu smiled.

"Exactly, yes she hated him at first, but she's gotten over it, she knows it was an accident." She said, 'But i've never seen her pay so much attention to one person before, haven't you noticed she almost always hung around Yugo a little after the whole _'incident'_?" She asked, Yuya chuckled.

"Now that you mention it, you're right..." He said, Rin always did seem to hang around Yugo, he had even overheard them talking about D-Wheels at one point.

"Rin is... probably really upset right now..." Yuzu said, "But i'm sure that she will be okay..." She said to him, Yuya smiled, "Yeah... I hope so..." He said, staring at the sky.

"Hey, I just remembered!" Yuzu said, "Hm? What is it?" He asked, Yuzu then suddenly leaned on his shoulder, Yuya blushed. "Thank you for saving me..." She said, her eyes closed, Yuya smiled, "any time..." He said as she slowly drifted to sleep on his shoulder.

* * *

Serena was washing her dishes when Yuri came over to her to wash his as well, "Hey" Said Yuri, "Hey" Said Serena.

Serena bit her lip, "Was there something else I could have done?" She asked, "Should I have done anything at all?" She said, looking up at the ceiling, Yuri sighed, "don't stress about it," He said, grabbing her unfinished dishes. "I would have done the same thing, and besides, i'm sure it'll all work out." He said, placing both his and her's dishes in the dishwasher.

"But what if it doesn't?" She asked, "What if I just screwed her and Yugo's relationship before it even started?" She asked, she placed a hand against her head. "I said it before and i'll say it again, I pushed them too fast, something I shouldn't have done..." She said, Yuri groaned. "Yes, we get it already!" He said, annoyance in his voice, "We get it, you messed up and you think the world is ending because _Fusion _screwed up with a girl he liked, big deal!" He said, Serena's face flushed, "Hey! It would be nice if you said something nice you know!" She yelled.

"Well sorry missy!" He said, slamming the dishwasher shut, "You've come to the wrong person, besides..." He said, starting to leave the kitchen, "If i've learned anything about you girls in the time that we've spent together, it's that you're all strong enough to handle petty things like this." He said. "I'm going to bed, and if Fusion is still moping when I wake up, i'm tossing him off a cliff." He said before leaving.

Serena was speechless, she had come for comfort and instead had Yuri's cold hard opinion crash into her headfirst.

Not that it was suprising in any way.

Serena sighed, she knew he was right, but she couldn't help but feel bad, she should have just let their relationship take it's course, or at least waited until they were ready.

But there was nothing she could do about it now, she'd just have to hope everything would end up working out well in the end.

* * *

Ruri stirred from her slumber, "Huh? What happened..." She said, looking around, the day had turned to night in an instant.

She suddenly remembered what had caused her to faint.

"Ah! Rin!" She yelled, jumping up, she looked around her, neither Rin or Yugo were in sight. Yuto however, was sitting next to her.

He smiled, "awake now?" He asked, handing her a plate with a chocolate cake on it, "Sit down, you're in for a loooooooooot of drama..." He said, beginning to explain the events that had happened after she passed out.

_Later..._

"Oh no..." She said, "Have they come down at all yet?" She asked, Yuto shook his head, "We're giving them some space for now, in other news, Yuya is awake" He said bluntly. "Oh, that's nice..." She said calmly.

"Wait Yuya's awake!?" She practically yelled, "Yup, saw the whole thing as well, a pretty dramatic first thing to see" He said sarcastically. "Oh dangit!" She said, "I wanted to tease Yuzu in front of him when he got up!" She said, "She spent almost all of her time next to his bed making sure he was okay!" She said, placing a palm up to her forehead. "I'll have to do it tomorrow..." She said, Yuto sweatdropped, "That's what you're worried about?" He asked, Ruri smiled. "What can I say, I love teasing my little sister!" She said cheerily.

"Though... I hope Rin and Yugo sort eachother out..." She said, her smile being replaced by a look of worry, Yuto placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure she'll be fine, both her and Yugo..." Yuto said, Ruri smiled, "Yeah, you're probably right." She said to the boy.

"...Although it's good our brother doesn't live here with us, Yugo would be dead meat the second he made Rin cry." She said, Yuto smiled, "Yeah... Wait you have a brother!?" He yelled, shocked, Ruri gave him a confused look, "I thought we told you guys!" She said, Yuto facepalmed. "Now... is not the time for that..." He said, looking exhausted.

"I'm going to bed, there's been too much excitement for one day..." He said, walking away, Ruri called after him, "good night Yuto!" She said, giving him a little wave. Yuto blushed a little bit before waving back.

* * *

Rin had her face buried in her pillow, her tears had mostly dried up a long time ago, but there was still a big of moisture in the corners of her eyes as she shoved her face deeper into the tear-soaked pillow.

"Yugo you idiot..." She muttered before she slowly drifted to sleep.

Meanwhile Yugo laid in his bed, staring up at his ceiling regretting _many _life choices, mostly the ones he made today though.

"Yugo you idiot..." He muttered to himself as he slowly closed his eyes and began to sleep.

**The feeling of breaking past a writers block is SO SATISFYING.**

**It was more of a tall fence though, rather than a block. I just at one point didn't know how to proceed with the story, but once I did, I had an absolute _writing fever_ where all I was doing for a good amount of time was typing my fingers off my hands.**

**Anyways, it looks like Rin and Yugo's relationship has gone down a bumpy road, Yuya and Yuzu are getting closer, and the beginning of actual one-on-one interactions between Serena and Yugo/Yuto and Ruri are starting! Let the drama commence... (Muahahahahaha)**

**For those wondering about the order of age the Bracelet girls go in, here it is:**

**Ruri: Oldest**

**Serena: Second oldest**

**Rin: Second youngest**

**Yuzu: Youngest**

**Basically the same as the Yu-Boys.**

**They are all the same age as eachother though, just some were apparently born a little before the other.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll see you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Eyes of Blue

**Thank you all so much for supporting this story! I'm honestly so happy when you all enjoy it, and I hope you continue to enjoy it as well!**

**Chapter 4: The Eyes of Blue**

Had things improved since then?

The answer is no.

The next day, Yugo had come down, acting as though nothing had happened, "Hey guys! What's up?" He asked cheerfully.

He was clearly trying to pretend it never happened, to lie to himself.

Unfortunately, Rin wasn't doing that, and she happened to be downstairs at the time.

The second Rin saw him, she left the room, she didn't say a word, she just turned and left. Yuto tried to talk to him, as did Yuya, but they got the same response, "Don't worry guys! I'm fine!" He would say cheerily.

"Are... are you sure?" Yuya asked, Yugo smiled, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He would say, "Well, I mean..." Yuya began to say, Yugo cut him off. "Listen, Yuya" He said, "It's my problem, i'll handle it, don't worry." He said.

Eventually, days passed, Yugo and Rin's relationship stayed at a standstill, and it was finally time for classes to officially start again.

Yuya dashed down the stairs, "Crap i'm late!" He yelled, Yuto grabbed him by the back of his shirt, "Relax, suprisingly enough, you're actually early." He said, Yuya looked at the time. "Wow... you're right!" He said, "must've been excited for classes to finally start again," Yuto said, "I expect this to become a routine." He said, grinning, Yuya groaned, "Yuto noooooo!" Said Yuya, despairing at the thought of getting up early EVERY day.

Rin came down next, she quickly said "good morning" before dashing out the door, "Hey wait! I made something for everyo-annnd she's gone." He said, a little dissapointed. Yuri came down the stairs, "What was that about?" He asked, Yuya shrugged.

Yuto sighed, "Well, I guess i'll give this to her when we get to class..." He said, holding up a brown paper bag, Yuya noticed seven more identical bags behind him, each labeled with one of their names. "What's that?" Yuri asked, Yuto smiled, "I figured I'd do something useful and make lunch for everybody," He said, "Rather than having to pay for the school lunches, you know?" He said, smiling.

Yuya smiled, "Wow, thanks Yuto!" He said, grabbing the bag labeled with his name, Yuri grinned, "Wow, you're just like a housewife aren't you?" He teased, Yuto's eye twitched, "I could burn yours to ashes right now you know..." He said quietly, Yuri quickly backed off. Yuri had teased him about being a housewife-err, house_husband_ before, and it happened to get on Yuto's nerves more than most things.

Everyone else eventually poured downstairs, thanking Yuto for the lunches, "Could one of you girl's give this to Rin when you see her?" He asked, holding up the brown bag, "Huh? Where is she?" Yuzu asked, Yuto shrugged, "She dashed out the door the second she got down here, I think she went early." He said, Yugo snatched the bag from his hands.

"I'll give it to her..." He muttered, Yuto was about to ask if that was a good idea, but he quickly stowed the thought away. "Alright then, i'm leaving it up to you." He said, patting him on the back, Yugo nodded.

* * *

Yuya, Yuto, Yugo, Yuri, Yuzu, Ruri, and Serena entered the classroom they had been in just a week ago, the wall was completely fixed, and anything that may have been crushed by having a large amount of monsters crammed into it were replaced.

_The classroom layout is similar to that of a large College classroom, almost like an auditorium, but a little smaller, with a large, empty space in the middle._

Yuma quickly burst into the classroom, carrying a stack of papers, Kotori wasn't far behind, carrying yet another stack of papers. "Alright class, everyone grab a seat!" He said loudly, students began searching for open seats next to their friends, "remember! The seat you choose will be your seat for the rest of the year!" He said loudly.

Yuya sat down, Yuzu sat next to him, they smiled at eachother, they'd been getting along quite well recently, they could proudly say that they were best friends now. A large figure sat down next to him with a large thump, he extended a shockingly large hand to Yuya, "Hello, my name is Gongenzaka Noboru," He said, "O-Oh! Hello!" Yuya said, taking his hand (though his hand size in comparison was tiny), "I'm Yuya Sakaki," He said, introducing himself, "I'm Yuzu Kurosaki!" Said Yuzu cheerfully.

"It's nice to meet you, I hope we can be good friends!" Said Gongenzaka, shaking his hand somewhat roughly, but more gentle then Yuya expected, "L-Likewise!" Yuya said

Another person sat next to Yuzu, he had light-blue hair, and contrary to Gongenzaka, was actually quite small.

"Hello! I'm Sora Shiunin!" He said, extending a hand past Yuzu towards Yuya, "I saw the giant dragon you and your brothers transformed into! It was incredible!" He said, shaking his hand strongly, Gongenzaka's eyes widened, "That was you?" He said, "which one?" He asked, Yuya laughed nervously, "I-I'm the red one..." He said, embarassed a bit. Gongenzaka's smile widened, "Incredible! I was absolutely stunned!" He said loudly, "I hope to one day transform into a monster with a presence as strong as yours!" He said, Sora nodded his head in agreement.

"Well it's good to meet you all!" Yuya said, "let's all be good friends!" He said cheerfully.

Meanwhile, Yuto grabbed a seat close to the back of the classroom, Ruri followed him and sat down with him, "O-Oh! Ruri!" He said, his face blushed a bit as he remembered that these seats would be where they would sit for the rest of the year. Ruri smiled at him, "Hello Yuto!" She said cheerfully, suddenly the door to the classroom suddenly burst open. A tall... man? Boy? Who knows, walked inside, he wore a long blue jacket, and his hair was a bluish-black, and he had an angry look on his face.

Kotori went to meet him, "A-Ah! Are you the one transferring to this class... Shun Kurosaki?" She asked, Kurosaki nodded, Ruri stood up halfway suddenly, as did the rest of her sisters in the classroom, "Brother!?" She mouthed quietly, before sitting back down as not to cause a commotion, her sisters did the same, Yuto was shocked.

"He's your brother!?" He exclaimed, Ruri nodded, "Yes, he's a also a freshman here," She explained, "Despite his rough exterior, he's actually pretty nice!" She said, smiling nervously, "We haven't heard from him in a while though... let's just say that his and our relationship with our dad is a little... rocky at the moment." She said, "He sort of... kicked Shun out a year ago, we only heard from him when he sent us a letter saying he was accepted here recently..." She said.

Meanwhile, Yuzu was also explaining to Yuya, "Our Mom passed away suddenly one day... and our dad, who we didn't know until now took us in..." She said quietly. "He was kind at first, but then he... changed..." She muttered.

Back to Ruri, "He well, he didn't look at us in the same way anymore..." She said, she was having trouble getting the words out, Yuto quickly placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, you don't need to keep explaining..." He said kindly, realizing that they were advancing into personal territory, Yuya did the same over with Yuzu.

"Thanks..." Ruri said, breathing out, "He must have found out we were all in the same homeroom and convinced the school to switch him to this class." She said, "He's a bit... protective after all." She said.

Kurosaki came up to the back of the classroom, Yuto sweatdropped, he could have sworn he felt a powerful aura surrounding him. He sat on the other side of Ruri, he smiled at her, "Hey Ruri, long time no see." He said, Ruri smiled at him, "We missed you..." She said softly.

"H-Hi..." Yuto said nervously, "I'm Y-Yuto Sakaki..." He said, Kurosaki looked at him, "I-I'm Ruri's friend..." He said, extending his hand, "Nice to m-meet you..." He said nervously.

A moment passed.

Kurosaki took his hand and firmly shook it, Yuto looked up at him, "Nice to meet you, I'm Shun Kurosaki," He said, "Thank's for being Ruri's friend." He said, Yuto smiled, "Y-Yeah," He said, his nervousness fading. "Likewise!" He said, shaking his hand back, Ruri smiled, glad that her friend and her brother were getting along.

* * *

"So, why are you sitting here?" Asked Serena.

"I dunno, why are YOU sitting here?" Asked Yuri.

"I sat here first, so YOU answer MY question!" Serena exclaimed.

"I thought it would be nice to sit close to the exit," He said, pointing at the door right next to them, "You just happened to also be sitting here." He said bluntly. "Well then maybe i'll move then!" She said angrily, Yuri grinned, "Go ahead, as if I care." He said.

Serena's eye twitched, before she sat back down in a huff, Yuri grinned evilly, "Oh? So why aren't you moving?" He said condescendingly, Serena's face flushed, "Shut up asshole!" She yelled, Yuri laughed his head off.

* * *

Yugo looked around for Rin, he noticed her by the corner of the classroom, he gulped, holding the brown bag that he had agreed to pass on to her. He slowly walked over to her.

"Hey, you forgot something back at the dorms," He said, averting his eyes, Rin looked away from him, "hm..." She said, acknowledging she heard him, Yugo placed the bag down on her desk, "Yuto made one for everybody, now you don't have to buy your lunch." He said, Rin continued to ignore him.

The people seated around them sweatdropped as the awkward atmosphere spread to them as well, Yugo stood there for a few minutes, Rin continued to ignore him.

_"Yugo Sakaki, I believe?" _Said a ghostly voice from behind him, "Whoa!" He yelled, jumping back, Astral had appeared behind him suddenly, "M-Mr. Astral!" He stuttered, Astral's facial expression was in an eternal poker face, _"Class is about to begin, please take a seat." _He said, Yugo sweatdropped, "A-Ah! Right!" He said, looking around the room for another seat.

There were none left.

"U-Uhh, there are no more seats left..." He said, Astral shook his head, "Wrong, look behind you Mr. Sakaki," He said, Yugo looked behind him to see an empty seat right next to Rin.

Rin's eye twitched.

"U-Umm, are you sure there aren't any other seats...?" Yugo asked, Astral stared at him directly in the eyes, _"Take. A. Seat. Mr. Sakaki." _He stated, "Y-Yes sir!" He said quickly, dropping into the seat next to Rin.

Astral nodded and disapeared into thin air.

Rin still looked away from him, Yugo nervously whistled.

Their neighbors continued to sweat buckets as the awkward atmosphere increased.

"...Thanks..." She said, taking the bag off of her desk, "No problem..." Muttered Yugo.

A boy who sat in front of them brought out his computer and began typing something at an alarming rate, "thanks for the inspiration you two..." He muttered so nobody could hear, "that entire interaction just brought me out of writers block..." He muttered, nobody heard him, he wore dark colors and had hair covering one of his eyes, his hair was just black, and it hung limply as though it was as lazy as the person who had it.

* * *

Yuma cleared his throat, "Hello class," He said, "Due to the events that happened last class we-and everybody else-are incredibly behind." He said, taking out a list from his pocket. "We need to discuss Dueling, basic history of duelists, the laws of dueling, how transformation works, half-transformation..." He said, "we should have at least covered all of those briefly last week, but it seems we're going to have to hustle to learn everything sooner." He said, putting away the list.

"We will be starting with Dueling in general, which I have requested the help of another teacher to help me in showing it!" He said, gesturing towards the door, Kotori opened it and beckoned for somebody to enter.

A brown-haired man marched into the room, he wore a large, flowing white jacket with incredibly sharp shoulders, he wore a necklace with a brown card hanging on it, and his eyes shone a dark blue.

"Thats...!" Yuto nearly yelled, also nearly standing up.

"Everyone, i'd like you to meet Seto Kaiba!" Said Yuma, Kaiba grinned, a series of murmurs echoed throughout the room, Kaiba's grin slowly turned into that of a cocky grin, one that even Yuri respected.

"Listen up you _Weaklings!_" He yelled, everyone in the room grew quiet, Yuri's eye twitched. "As of right now, NONE of you have strength that could even REMOTELY suprise me," He said, everyone was quiet as he yelled, "Therefore, it will be MY job to make sure that EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, have the strength to be considered a one-man army!" He yelled, Yuma sweatdropped, "Hey, Kaiba? Could you uhh, calm down?" He said, Kaiba glared at him, "Shut it half-wit!" He yelled, Yuma quickly backed off.

Kaiba looked out at the students before him, "However..." He said, "There are four students among you who have piqued my interest..." He said quietly, "All students with the last name of Sakaki!" He yelled, "Get down here unless you want me to drag you down here myself!" He yelled, Yuya gulped, Yuto sweatdropped, Yugo looked a little afraid, and Yuri grinned maliciously.

They all slowly got out of their seats and walked down to the man, he stared them down, everyone except Yuri sweatdropped, who grinned.

"You four, we're dueling, now." He said, Yuma jumped up, "What!?" He yelled, Astral sighed, _"Somehow, i'm not suprised." _He said, Yuma ran up to him, "Kaiba, a duel!? Seriously!?" He said, "The plan was for you and ME to duel to show them what it's like!" He muttered, Kaiba ignored him. "I've heard that you four have some... interesting transformations..." He said, "First transformations as well, and one of you..." He muttered, looking directly at Yuri, "needs to be humbled..." He said.

"Oh?" Said Yuri, "Then bring it on _sir_..." Said Yuri, his brothers looked at him in shock.

"Yuri!"

"Yuri what are you doing!?"

"Oh my god..."

"Very well then!" Kaiba yelled, "Hey cheerleader!" He yelled, referring to Kotori, "Y-Yes?" She stuttered, "Ready the field..." He said, before grabbing all four boys and dragging them out of the classroom, "I expect EVERYONE in this classroom to be watching! Now come!" He yelled, walking out the door, Yuma sighed, "Alright class, I didn't expect this to happen, but follow me..." He said, opening another door labeled "Observation room".

Inside was similar to a VIP Box in a football stadium, except bigger, one of the walls was made entirely of glass, and it overlooked a large stadium, "Whoa..." muttered Sora, "I hope we get to use this often!" He said, looking around, Yuzu looked out at the stadium, "Yuya..." She muttered, worry etched on her face.

* * *

Yuya and his brothers had been tossed into a dark room, "Mentally prepare yourselves, or whatever it is you need to do," Said Kaiba as the doors closed, Yuto dusted himself off, "Well thanks, Yuri." He said angrily, Yuri chuckled, "Relax, it's a 4v1," He said, "I'm sure we can take him," He said cockily, Yugo jumped up and began to shake him, "Take him, TAKE HIM!?" He yelled, "That's SETO FREAKING KAIBA YURI," He yelled, Yuri scoffed, "Yeah, so? Yuya took down a terrorist on his first day," Said Yuri, "What's a teacher compared to that?" He asked.

"The difference Yuri..." Said Yugo, "Is that it's SETO FREAKING KAIBA, STRONG ISHIJIMA WOULD HAVE STOOD NO CHANCE!" He yelled, Yuri scoffed again, "Whatever _Fusion_" He said, Yugo's face went red, "MY NAME IS NOT FUSION, ITS YUGO YOU AS-" He yelled, but was cut off by the room beginning to shake and rise, everyone wobbled as it began to move.

"Oh god, it's really happening..." Said Yuya, "Well, buckle up everyone..." Yuto said, "Our first duel together isn't what we expected, but we just need to work hard." He said, "We can do this..." He said while Yugo whisper-screamed at him _"We caaaaaaaaaaaaaan't!"_

Light began to pour in as the ceiling opened up, revealing that just the floor was moving, the platform reached the top, revealing them to be in the stadium, Kaiba stood at the other end of the field.

They looked up to the side, they saw what seemed like a VIP Box holding all of their classmates, Yuya waved, Yugo and Yuto gulped, Yuri continued to grin.

"Yuma!" Yelled Kaiba, "Activate Action Field: Dragon's Temple!" He yelled, back at the box, Yuma nodded, "alright then..." He said nervously, pressing a button on the wall.

Suddenly, the area began to change, no longer was it just a stadium, the sky began to change to a bright orange, the ground rose up and ancient stone blocks similar to stonehenge, they all had an ancient language carved into it, multiple dragon statues stood around them, the area seemed to be that of a hill type area.

"Now, reveal your forms to us!" Yelled Kaiba, clenching his fist tightly, "I shall overwhelm you with my power!" He yelled.

"Alright then, are we really going to defy our teacher?" Yuri said, grinning, a purple card appeared in front of him. "Come forth!" He yelled, clapping his hands together on the card, "Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!" He yelled, a purple light surrounding him, he reappeared as a large purple and green dragon, yellow orbs seemed to adorn his body, and he seemed part plant, part dragon. He let out a loud roar at Kaiba, his eyes flashing yellow menacingly.

"Damn it..." Yugo said, "Guess we have no choice...!" He said, a white card appearing in front of him. "Come forth! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" He yelled, grabbing the card in his fist and raising it to the sky, he was covered in a bright white light, he reappeared as a large white dragon with blue plates on its hands and in other areas, it's legs were more like stubs, but it had a long, spiked tail, and large bright glass-like wings that glowed a bright green, if Yuri's dragon was scary, Yugo's was majestic. His eyes shone yellow as he stared down Kaiba.

"Alright everyone, let's do this then!" Yuto yelled, a dark-blue card appearing in front of him, "Come Forth! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" He yelled, crushing the card in his hand, he was covered in a dark blue light, a black smoke began to appear around him, he reappeared as a pitch-black dragon, his eyes glowed yellow like the other two, a sharp fang on his chin, he had a long neck, tail, and arms, said arms had blades on the side. His wings were almost mechanical, purple orbs adorning them, electricity crackled around him, he roared into the air as his transformation finished.

Yuya sighed, "Here we go then..." He said, he couldn't help but feel worried, suddenly he remembered something, something important.

_"Always remember to smile, you can do anything if you can just do that."_

His father's words to him, Yuya smiled.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" He yelled, extending his arms out to his sides, his brother's heads turned to look at him. "Behold! I shall now show you all the greatest show, alongside my brothers, with something never seen before!" He yelled, a bright smile on his face, Kaiba stared at him. "Sakaki..." He muttered, "Ah... I remember now..." He said, "So you're all the sons of the Entertainment Duelist, are you..." He said, grinning.

"Now, come forth!" He yelled, a card appearing in front of him, glowing red and green, back in the box, everyone began to murmur when they saw it.

"Look at that...!"

"What's with that color?"

"It looks pretty!"

Yuzu smiled, "you got this Yuya...!" She said, gazing at the boy, his smile was contagious, spreading to everyone in the box.

"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" He yelled, grabbing the card and raising it into the air, it shattered into bright red and green lights, covering him. He emerged as his form as a dragon, bright red scales, large horns, shining orbs adorning his body, and two eyes, the right one glowing red, and the left glowing green. He roared into the air, a gust of wind blowing past them, his eyes shone bright at the man he was about to battle.

"Check that out..."

"It's eyes are so pretty..."

"Whoa..."

The boy who sat in front of Yugo moved his hair away from one of his eyes in shock, "incredible..." he muttered, staring at the dragon, quickly taking out a sketchbook and drawing the forms of all four dragons as quickly as he could.

"Hm, are you by any chance the son of Yusho Sakaki?" Kaiba asked, Yuya nodded, "yes, he is our dad." He said, Kaiba grinned, "I see... all the more reason to expect more of you! NOW!" He yelled, raising his hand into the air, black clouds formed above them, covering the orange sky, blue thunder crashed down behind him. "DESCEND NOW, MY POWER!" He yelled, a bright orange card appearing in his raised hand, a small dot of blue light sat at the center.

"BLUE EYES, WHITE DRAGON!" He yelled, crushing the card in his hand, a blue light enveloped him, powerful winds stormed around the arena, Yuya and his brothers struggled to fight against the wind, "Hold on!" Yuya yelled, Yuri quickly sent out a tentacle to wrap around Yugo, who began to be pushed back by the winds as he was in the air, Yuto grabbed onto Yuya's horns, who had dug his feet into the ground. Thunder crackled around Kaiba as the light began to dissapate.

In his place was a large white dragon, the clouds began to dissapear as he rose into the air, his eyes shone an opressive blue, everyone was silent as they gazed at the majestic form of the great beast.

Suddenly, the dragon roared, his roar caused the glass on the box to shake as his presence and power was made clear to all watching, his eyes glowed a blue that outshone Yuya's own eyes, "keh..." Yuya grunted, standing up tall, Yuri let Yugo out of his grasp, "Tch..." he said, anger written on the face of his dragon, he growled. "Damn... this may be a challenge..." he muttered as they were stared down by the beast.

"What'd I say?" Said Yugo, "WHAT DID I SAY YURI?" He yelled, Yuri smacked him with his tail, "Oh shut up!" He said angrily, "get your shit together, we have some work to do..." He said, staring at their enemy.

Yuzu stared out at the field, "Yuya..." She said, worry inching it's way back into her heart, "Yuto..." Muttered Ruri, Kurosaki placed a hand on her shoulder, he had planned to meet with his sisters once he had gotten inside this room, but now, even he couldnt keep his eyes off of the event happening in front of him. Rin said nothing as she looked out at the events unfolding, she pinched her arm as she felt herself begin to worry, but it didn't help, she couldnt help it, Serena gritted her teeth, "this is what happens when you act like a dumbass Yuri..." She muttered, looking out at the field.

Letters appeared in the sky, as well as a loud intercom speaking out the words.

**_Get ready!_**

**_3_**

**_2_**

**_1_**

**_It's time to Duel!_**

"Don't expect me to hold back! **Burst Stream of Destruction!**" He yelled, blasting a large white stream of energy at the four, "Crap-DODGE!" Yelled Yugo, flying out of the way, Yuto, Yuri, and Yuya did the same (He had found out over the past few days that if you used your energy correctly, even monsters without the natural ability to fly can fly as well, just not as well.)

Yuya quickly landed, Kaiba turned to him, "You!" He yelled, "Don't hold anything back! You said you would show us something never seen before, correct?" He yelled, "tch!" Yuya said, letting out a roar, "You asked for it! Come! Stargazer! Timegazer!" He yelled. Blue pillars rose from the ground, as did the two magicians Yuya had fought with during his fight with Strong Ishijima.

_**"We shall lend you our power!" **_They yelled, raising their hands and firing beams at the dragon, Kaiba merely shrugged it off, "Weak!" He yelled, firing a ball of lighting at the dragon, Yuya quickly jumped away, "Timegazer! Stargazer! Help me take him down!" He yelled, the two magicians nodded and flew up to the dragon, Stargazer formed a cage of stars around him, Timegazer formed a clock around himself and raised his hands at the dragon, he froze in place.

"Alright!" He yelled, cheering, but he noticed something off.

The two magicians were visibly struggling.

"Crap-EVERYONE ATTACK!" He yelled, his brothers nodded.

Purple lighting formed around Yuto, the fang on his chin began to glow and formed even more electricity there, he charged at the white dragon, _**"Rebellious Lightning Disobey!" **_

Yugo flew up into the air, he did a barrel roll, causing green wind to gather around him in as a whirlwind, Yugo charged at the white dragon with this energy surrounding him, _**"Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!"**_

Yuri sent out multiple roots off his back, multiple green spheres of energy began to form in them, as well as dark, purple tentacles which stretched out and wrapped around the white dragon, solidifying it's restraints, **_"Deadly Roots!" _**Yuri yelled as he fired a multitude of green lasers at the dragon.

Yuya charged forward, jumping into the air, the orbs on adorning his body began to glow as flames formed in his mouth, _**"Spiral Flame Strike!" **_He yelled, firing a spiraling stream of flames at the dragon.

The attacks converged on the dragon, it looked like it was going to hit.

"Naive!" Yelled Kaiba, his eyes flashing blue, in the span of a second, the white dragon reared, and the binds placed on it by Yuri, the time magic placed on it by Timegazer, and the Cage surrounding it made by Stargazer were broken in an instant.

Timegazer and Stargazer were blown back, the force of the binds being broken caused Yuri to rear back, causing the lasers to miss their mark, Kaiba turned to the black and white dragon charging at him, his eyes shone blue.

In an instant, he caught the two dragons by their heads, holding them in place, electricity continued to crackle around Yuto, shocking the dragon, but Kaiba didn't even flinch, the sharp winds continued to flow around Yugo, but they failed to affect Kaiba in any way.

"What!?" Yuto grunted, "There's no way!" Yugo yelled, pushing harder, but to no avail.

Kaiba saw the flames from Yuya coming towards him, in an instant, Kaiba held the two dragons in his hands in front of him, allowing the flames to hit them, but not him.

"GAAAARGH!" They screamed, taking the full force of Yuya's attack, "Yuto! Yugo!" He yelled as Kaiba tossed them aside. Yuri roared in anger, "You'll pay!" He yelled, firing beams at the dragon again, they collided this time. "Yes!" He said, a smile on his face.

But his smile disappeared as the smoke cleared and revealed an undamaged Kaiba.

"T-Thats... no way!" He yelled, he fired beams again, Yuya was frozen in place, his magicians laid on the ground, struggling to get up.

Yuri continued to desperately fire lasers at the dragon, still doing nothing as he advanced towards him, "T-This is... you cant...!" He yelled, but before he knew it, the dragon was right in front of him.

Yuri was grabbed by his head and raised above the ground as Kaiba ascended, Yuri struggled to break free, sending tentacles with mouths on the ends at the dragon attempting to bite him, however they couldn't pierce his scales. "Damn it... Damn it!" He yelled, unable to fight back. Kaiba looked him in the eyes, "this is the power gap, you may be powerful, but it is nothing without experience and training for the world." He said grimly, "But then again," he said, his grin prominent in the mouth of his dragon form, "Even with all that, you'd never stand a chance against me." He said cockily as a white light formed in his mouth.

Yuri screamed as he was blasted point-blank with a stream of light from the dragon, he was blasted far away from him, colliding with the ground with a loud crash, he laid there unmoving.

Yuya shook his head, "Damn it, move!" He said to himself, glaring at the blue-eyed dragon, Kaiba landed on the ground, "NONE OF YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH TO BEAT ME," He yelled, "ONLY ONE HAS EVER BEATEN ME, AND I WILL NOT LOSE UNTIL I PAY HIM BACK!" He yelled, roaring into the sky.

Ruri covered her mouth, seeming to be on the verge of tears, burying her face into Kurosaki's jacket, Rin stared at the limp green-winged dragon on the ground, she couldnt keep her worry inside, "Yugo!" She yelled, "Yugo!"

Serena averted her eyes as she saw Yuri's defeat, "damn it..." She muttered, "you're supposed to act better then everyone damn it..." She muttered as the purple dragon laid limp on the ground.

"Yuya! Run!" Yelled Yuzu, "Run!" She yelled, despite the fact Yuya couldn't hear her. Regardless, Yuya still felt the urge to run away, but he resisted the temptation. "I won't run, i'll fight to the end!" He yelled, roaring, he charged at the white dragon, Kaiba grinned, "Good! Just the way I like it!" He yelled, charging at him as well, their heads collided, their eyes glowing bright as they pushed against eachother, Odd Eyes vs Blue Eyes.

"G-Grrrgh...!" Yuya grunted as he felt himself be pushed back, "So... Strong...!" He grunted, Kaiba laughed and pushed harder, breaking past Yuya and bashing him with all of his strength, sending him flying into the air. Yuya quickly activated flight, his orbs began to glow again as flames formed in his mouth, "Take this! _**SPIRAL FLAME STRIKE!" **_He yelled, sending out an even larger stream of spiraling flames at the dragon, Kaiba grinned, **_"Burst Stream of Destruction!" _**He yelled, firing an equally large white stream at the red dragon.

The streams collided, they seemed equal for a second, before Kaiba's blast began to push back Yuya's at an alarming rate, Yuya grunted, "When my attacks are fought against, their power is doubled! _**Reaction Force!" **_He yelled, his flames increased in size and heat and began to slowly push back Kaiba's blast, Kaiba grinned, "Interesting, but the fight is over!" He yelled, "You are nothing in the face of me!" He yelled, increasing the power of his own stream, suddenly his stream became twice as large as Yuya's.

It pushed back Yuya's attack with ease, even with Reaction Force, "Aaah, AAAAAAAAAH!" He yelled as the beam enveloped him, blasting him towards the VIP Box, students screamed as they ran from the windows, "Crap...!" Yuma grunted, "Astral!" He yelled, Astral understood what to do, _"Right!" _He yelled, flying through the glass, _"Come forth, Number 39! Hope Roots!" _He yelled, transforming into a different form that they had when he transformed with Yuma, it was a different form of Hope, slightly smaller with blue lines running through it.

_"Sorry Yuya, but I must deflect this...!" _He yelled, pulling out a sword and raising it like a bat, _"This'll hurt...!" _Astral said, slashing the beam and dragon with a glowing sword, in an instant, both changed directions towards the ground.

Yuya collided with the ground with an explosion as the beam hit the ground with him, Yuya laid limp on the ground, defeated.

"Hmph, this match is over." Muttered Kaiba, turning around, but his interest was caught once more.

"It's... not... over...!" Muttered Yuto, struggling to get up, his dragon eyes glowing yellow with determination, Yugo was doing the same, "I'm... not... done...!" He groaned, crawling towards the blue-eyed dragon, not having the strength to fly, "I... Won't... Lose...!" Muttered Yuri, slowly getting up, Yuya did the same, "We can still... fight..." He said, before slowly collapsing and hitting the ground again, Yuto passed out as well, as did Yugo, and Yuri spat at the ground before he passed out.

All four were enveloped in light as they reverted back to their human forms, beaten and battered.

_**Winner: Seto Kaiba**_


	5. Chapter 5: Arc-Evolution

**This is one of those chapters where I write 2k words, read it over, decide it's horrible, and delete everything to try again.**

**Thank god I have a oneshot's fanfic, now I can just vent a ton of fluffiness into a single chapter, agonize about the plot of a single chapter, toss in a lemon that makes about as much sense as I can make it, and be happy with my accomplishment.**

**And now I can agonize over how this chapter is going to work.**

**Kidding! I love this story, even if it stresses me out, the feeling of finishing a chapter and seeing what you guys think of it excites me! And nothing makes me happier than hearing that people actually like my stories!**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

**P.S. For those who want a little more specific description of how the "cards" look, imagine it like how you summon a Persona in Persona 4, a glowing Tarot card appears in your hand and you crush it. It's a little different here, for one thing they aren't Tarot Cards, but it's a good way to get a basic gist of what my inspiration for it was. The cards here in this story appear as glowing cards made of energy, they have the regular back and a simple image of the monster on the front (though you can hardly see the image through the BLINDING LIGHT COMING FROM IT), the card glows a different color depending on what type of monster it is.**

**Standard: Orange**

**Ritual: Dark-Blue**

**Fusion: Purple**

**Synchro: White**

**Xyz: Light-Blue**

**Pendulum: Red and Green (Alternating colors)**

**The user then crushes the card in their hand/any other motion, whatever feels comfortable to them (Yuri claps his hands together on the card, Yugo crushes it in his hand then raises the said hand in the sky, Yugo simply crushes the card in his hand, and Yuya takes the card in his hand, holds it in the air, and then crushes it).**

**As for Servant Spirits, they are well... servant spirits! Monsters you cannot transform into but can be summoned to your side to aid you in a fight, so far only Yuya, Yugi, Atem, and Judai have been shown to have Servant Spirits.**

**Without further ado, let us continue with the story!**

**Chapter 5: Arc-Evolution**

The boys took the match about as well as you may have expected.

Yuri took the match the hardest, if it weren't for Serena, he might have gone on being pissed about it for much longer than he was, Yuya remembered that he went into his room after classes ended and promptly screamed loud enough that the entire house heard him, Serena had found a way to trick the lock system on Yuri's door and went inside.

There was a loud thud, then silence.

Ten minutes later, Serena left the room unscathed, a look of satisfaction on her face, Yuri followed after her, a large bump on his head and looking peeved, but hey, he wasn't yelling.

They asked her what she did later, she simply grinned and walked away, asking Yuri was just as useless, as he would just grumble and leave the room.

Yuto just went into his room to rest, looking upset, Ruri tried to talk to him, but Yuto had done something to keep the door from opening even with the trick Serena used to open Yuri's door, something she refused to tell anybody else out of fear that "it was too much power".

Yugo and Yuya took it surprisingly well, they were definitely upset, but Yuya simply smiled and said "I'm not going to solve anything by moping," He said, "So I'm smiling, and I'll do everything I can to get stronger." He said.

Yugo took after Yuya's advice and decided not to dwell on it, Rin gave him a sideways glance before saying "glad you're doing okay..." before walking off.

So their relationship was about as awkward as usual.

Shun arrived later that day, something that called for a very emotional reunion, almost immediately he was swarmed by the four girls who latched onto him, some with more tears in their eyes than others.

Yuri gave a sideways glance, before deciding not to care, Yuya and Yugo smiled, happy for the sisters.

Suddenly Shun glared at the three boys, Yuri raised an eyebrow, Yuya sweatdropped and Yugo hid behind him (such a great big brother eh?)

"...So it's you four..." He said, acknowledging the fact he knew Yuto was somewhere in the house, "Living alone with my sisters?" He asked, his facial features screamed: "your fate depends on how you answer."

"Y-Yeah...?" Yuya said nervously.

"Hm..." Said Shun, staring them down, Yuto walked down the stairs, freezing halfway as he saw Shun staring down his brothers. "...Hey" He said calmly, Shun glanced at him.

He pointed at Yuto, "I trust you" He said, Yugo mouthed behind Yuya something about how they had just met, Shun pointed at Yuya, "To be determined..." He said. Yuya sweatdropped even more.

Shun stared at Yuri, his stare turned into a glare, "Stay at least ten feet away from my sisters at all times." He said. Yuri chuckled "Oh?" He said, grinning, Shun glared at him harder.

"And you..." Said Shun, staring at Yugo, everyone was silent.

Rin lifted her head and looked at Yugo, she frowned. "He's a complete pervert who requires at least one male near him to keep him in control." She said bluntly, Shun glared at him.

"WHAT!?" Yugo yelled, "T-That's not-why you...!" He stuttered, glaring at the green-haired girl, she smiled smugly and stuck her tongue out at him. "...You are somebody my sister currently has a grudge against," He said, Rin's smug expression dropped as she realized that Shun wasn't so easily bullshitted. "Worth a shot..." Rin said pouting.

"But I WILL, however, believe the pervert part." He said. Yugo's eyes widened, "I AM NOT!" He yelled, Yuri laughed in the background. "Well, you guys can hang out for now then," Said Yuto, "I'm going outside." He said, walking away. "Hey," Said Shun, Yuto turned his head to look at him, "You okay?" He asked. Yuto gave him a small grin, "yeah, of course." He said, going outside.

"Well, there's food in the fridge..." Said Yuya, standing up, Yugo stood up with him to stay behind him, placing a wall between him and Kurosaki. "I'll leave you guys alone." He said, smiling kindly, walking after Yuto with Yugo in tow. Yuri sipped his drink, "Oh don't mind me, I'll just be sitting here." He said smugly, Serena lifted her head up to look at him, "Yuri. Leave. Now." She said sternly, "yes ma'am." He said quickly, following after Yuya.

Serena's sisters stared at her, Serena grinned.

Just what happened in Yuri's room?

* * *

Yuya stepped outside to see Yuto setting up large statue-like structures shaped like different monsters, he recognized them as the "training dummies" they had found in the storage room.

"Yuto?" Yuya said. Yuto didn't hear him, "I wonder what he's doing..." Yugo said, standing next to Yuya.

Yuto took a deep breath, before transforming into Dark Rebellion, he made no sounds as he stared at a statue shaped like a Kuriboh.

They heard his dragon form let out a large sigh before suddenly the purple orbs on its wings began to glow, and electricity began to sparkle around his wings. "Alright... you can do this..." He said out loud.

"Treason... Discharge!" He yelled, suddenly directing the purple lightning surrounding his wings toward the statue, the lightning struck the statue before fizzling out uselessly.

"Damn it...!" Yuto said angrily, stomping his large foot on the ground in frustration, "It's not supposed to do that...!" He said angrily. "What's he trying to do?" Yuri asked, suddenly appearing next to Yuya, "I dunno... it looks like he's training..." He said, "hm..." Yuri said, "Hey! Yuto!" He yelled loudly, Yuto turned his head to look at him, "Huh? Yuri?" He said, "Yuya? Yugo? How long have you guys been there?" He asked, "since your first attempt," Said Yuri, "mind telling us what you're trying to do?" He said.

Yuto sighed, "It's dumb... you guys will laugh..." He said, looking away, "Oh come on!" Yuya said, jumping down after him, "We won't laugh!" He said, smiling. Yuto groaned, "I'm trying to tie up the statue with lighting..." He said.

"What?" Yuri asked, "Kind of like your vines..." Yuto said, causing Yuri to laugh, "Tie up something with lightning?" He said, almost mockingly, "That makes no sense!" He said as Yuto's wings flared up slightly, sending a small bolt of lightning towards Yuri, shocking him. "Shut up, asshole." He said grumpily.

"Why that specifically?" Yuya asked. Yuto sighed, "It's weird... I was sleeping and then suddenly, I was dreaming..." He said, "Dark Rebellion was there, and he showed me the move..." He said. "So you're making a new technique... based on a dream?" Yugo asked. Yuto sighed, "It's more than just a dream... it's..." He said, struggling to find the words to describe what he was explaining.

"Well, whatever!" Yuya said cheerfully, "We'll all train, we all need to get stronger anyway." Yuya said, "We'll all become stronger, so strong that we'll be able to beat anybody who threatens us," He said, holding out his fist, "So strong, that even Kaiba will think twice before fighting us!" He said, his brothers grinned at him.

"Alright..." Yuto said, reverting back to his human form. "It's a deal then," He said, holding out his own fist and connecting it with Yuya's, "We'll all become stronger together." He said. a smile on his face.

Yugo nodded, Yuri sighed, "Alright then, why not?" Yuri said, connecting his fist with Yuya and Yuto's, "Yeah! Let's do it!" Yugo said enthusiastically, connecting his fist with the rest, "We'll kick some serious ass together!" He said, grinning.

"By the way, Yuya, have you decided on a name for the type of monster Odd-Eyes is?" Yuto asked. Yuya smiled confidently, "Yup, Pendulum!" He said, looking down at his pendant, "Odd-Eyes is called a Pendulum Dragon right? And well..." He said, staring at the blue-pendulum hanging from his neck, "It just seems right..." He said.

"Sounds great!" Said Yugo, "Let's all do our best!" He said.

Yuzu watched them from the window, a smile was on each of their faces. Just today, they'd been beaten into the ground by someone with overwhelming power, heck, they still had bandages wrapped around certain areas.

But here they were, smiling.

Yuzu couldn't help but smile as well.

She looked up at the sky with a strong resolve, remembering when Yuya had to protect her. "I'm going to work hard as well..." She said out loud, "just watch me..." She said, her eyes shining with a solid determination.

And time flew by, and they all grew along with it.

**_A Month Later..._**

"So, who do you think will win?" Yuto asked.

"Well... Yuya is a really fast runner as Odd-Eyes..." Yuri said as he thought, "But Fusion can fly... and at an admittedly fast speed as well..." He said, giving Yugo some credit.

"Who're you rooting for?" Yuto asked.

"Yuya obviously," Yuri said.

'Why's that?" Yuto asked.

"I like him more than Yugo." Yuri stated bluntly, "Who are you rooting for?" Yuri asked.

"I'd rather not say..." Yuto said, trying to avoid stating his favorites, "Hey, I told you who I was rooting for, it's only fair" he said.

"...Yuya..." Yuto said reluctantly, "Yuya's just the favorite child, isn't he?" Asked Ruri, coming up from behind them. "What are you guys doing anyway?" She asked. Yuto sighed. "We WERE playing Monopoly..." Yuto said, "but Yugo wanted to be the top hat, the piece that Yuya rightfully grabbed first," he said.

"So, what? You guys are fighting over who gets to be the top hat in Monopoly? She asked, "No, Yuri and I don't care." Yuto said, "But Yugo does, and apparently so does Yuya, so now..." He said, gesturing towards the sky, Ruri looked at the sky, "there's nothing there..." She said, "Wait for it..." Yuri said.

Suddenly there was an explosion in the distance, as well as a stream of green light being shot into the sky, suddenly Yugo, transformed into Clear Wing, flew into the air (though he was little more than a speck from their distance). Following him was a spiraling stream of red flames, likely Yuya, they saw Yugo dodge the stream before going into a nosedive towards the source of the flames.

Ten full seconds of silence passed.

Suddenly, they heard rumbling from the forest of trees nearby, Yugo suddenly burst through the trees, roaring in pain, Yuya, transformed into Odd-Eyes, was comedically hanging onto his Yugo's tail with by biting on it and was being dragged behind him, and Yugo wasn't exactly _enjoying _having his tail chewed on.

Suddenly Yugo turned around, whipping his tail and causing Yuya to fly off of him, Yuya crashed into the ground nearby and immediately got up. "You bit my TAIL!" Yugo yelled, "You GRABBED mine!" Yelled Yuya, roaring at the other dragon, "Hey, I actually have good ARMS!" Yugo yelled, raising his arms as he said so, "I'm damn well going to use them!" He yelled.

"And I have the strongest jaw!" Yuya yelled, "IM damn well gonna use it too!" He yelled.

"JUST GIVE UP THE TOP HAT YUYA!"

"NEVER!"

They charged and crashed into each other, a cloud of dust rose, Ruri let out a shriek as the dust went towards them and took cover behind Yuto, Yuto and Yuri slowly sipped a glass of juice as the dust cloud blew past them, causing their hair to flow wildly, both of their faces were in what seemed like a permanent poker-face.

Despite the fact it was essentially a duel (they had to take care not to accidentally go past the boundaries that their dorms allow them), it had now quickly devolved into just a regular fight, both of them were on the ground and biting each other's tails, Yugo was trying to poke Yuya in the eyes, Yuya gave Yugo a strong kick.

"...What kind of sibling rivalry is this!?" Ruri exclaimed, "Relax, we usually tire ourselves out at this stage." Yuri said casually, as he said that, Yuya and Yugo suddenly let go of each other and laid limply on the ground.

"You know what?" Yugo said panting, "Why don't we... just play rock paper scissors?" He asked.

"You know what?" Yuya said, also panting hard, "Why didn't we do that first?" He asked.

"Very good question you know," Yuto said calmly.

"Ruri just stood and stared blankly at the two dragons reverting back to their human forms and beginning to play Rock Paper Scissors, something that Yuya won fairly quickly, to Yugo's loud disappointment.

Unbeknownst to them, Rin watched from inside, more accurately, she watched Yugo.

She quickly pinched herself and walked away.

Yeah, that whole fiasco was still going on, or at least, just slightly.

Rin continued to not talk to Yugo, if she wanted to talk to him, she'd have someone else relay the message.

No seriously, Rin actually found someone random to go over to Yugo, who was in the SAME ROOM, to tell him to stop being a child.

And no matter what anybody said to either of them, neither of them actually tried to fix things with the other, Yugo claimed he did nothing wrong, and Rin said that she wasn't going to be talking to "that asshole" anytime soon.

"Yuya? Did you finish your part of the project?" Yuzu asked as they came back inside, Yuya's face went pale, "Uhh, yeah... I did..." He said looking away from her, Yuzu raised an eyebrow, "What was the name of the first Duelist?" Yuzu asked to quiz the boy, Yuya froze in place.

"Uh..." Yuya said, racking his mind for the answer, Yuzu threw a book at him, already knowing that he had no clue, "I am NOT failing because I chose you as my partner! Come with me!" She yelled, dragging him away from his brothers, "You are going to be an EXPERT at the history of Dueling before this weekend ends, hear me?" She said as she dragged him into her room, slamming the door behind them.

"...I guess that means I can be the top hat now!" Yugo said cheerfully.

* * *

"Are... are you serious?" Said Kaiba as he and the other teachers sat around the table, "You're really starting it up again?" He asked.

Atem nodded, "I'm sure that it will help our students grow and become stronger..." He said with a cryptic smile. Yuma looked down at the paper that had been handed out, he looked visibly excited, actually shaking in his seat. "You know you can't actually join it, right?" Said a voice from beside him, "I know... but I can't help but be excited!" He said, "Aren't you excited to Shark?" He asked.

The blue-haired male sighed, "I mean, a little," He said, "But I can't join, so not really" he said bluntly. "Actually..." Yugi said, "That might change..." he said to them all, everyone in the room leaned in, interested. "You will find out the details on the date listed," he said as he stood up, causing everybody else to also stand up.

"So Yusei, I bet you'd be great for the opening ceremony..." Said a male voice, wearing a red jacket.

"You think so Judai?" Said Yusei, walking alongside him.

On the paper that everybody had a copy of, was a poster for a large event.

_Arc-Evolution Tournament _

* * *

"GUYS!" Yugo yelled, nearly falling down the stairs, Yuya lifted his head up from the desk he was sitting at, he had bags under his eyes and Yuzu had teacher-glasses on, meaning she had been drilling history into his head for likely a few hours. "Y-Yeah?" He said sleepily, "Hey! Focus!" Yuzu said, smacking him in the back of his head with a paper fan.

"CHECK THIS OUT!" He yelled, taking out his phone, which was set to the school's social media.

Yuri snatched the phone from his hands and looked at the post, his face contorted into a grin as Yuto came from behind him and looked at the screen.

"Guys, you actually all need to see this..." Yuto said, Yuzu sighed and helped Yuya up from his seat as they walked over to them, the other girls also crowded around them. Yuya's eyes snapped open as he saw the post, a wide smile formed on his face, "...YES" He said simply.

The school had posted about the tournament.

"It says it'll start as a team thing..." Yuri said, "It can be in a team of up to four members... but if you make it to the finals, the team will split up..." He said. "I say that's perfect..." Yuto said with a grin, "We can fight together, and then when we make it to the finals, we'll be able to fight each other for the win..." He said.

"So you boys are planning on participating?" Ruri asked them, "Oh definitely... what about you?" Yuri asked, "We'll think about it for now..." Serena said, Yuri grinned, "What? Scared you won't be able to beat us?" Yuri taunted, he suddenly felt a strong grip on his shoulder, Serena gave him a kind smile before proceeding to increase the strength of her grip, "What was that?" She asked, Yuri's eye twitched as he smiled, but shot mental daggers at her from his eyes, Serena did the same, giving him a similar smile, though her eyes gave the impression of "I want to stab you".

Suddenly Yuri's eyes lit up, he shrugged Serena's hand off of his shoulder and switched Yugo's phone to its internet browser, "Alright, who wants to see Fusion's internet history?" He asked, Yugo suddenly went red and began to try and push everybody away from Yuri, "AHAHAHA NOBODY WANTS TO SEE THAT, ALRIGHT _YURI_?" He yelled, unfortunately, he was pushed back by everyone as they leaned in to look, now increasingly curious thanks to Yugo's reaction.

A moment of silence passed.

"...Yugo... I'm not gonna say anything about your kinks... mostly because your search history is rather lacking in that department..." Yuri said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "But why are you searching up the 'average length of a penis'?" He asked. Somebody let out a loud "pfffft...!" As Yuri said that.

Yugo's face flushed, "I-I just wanna make sure that when I get w-with a girl, I'll be able to please!" Yugo yelled. Rin gave him a cold glare, "perv" she said bluntly before walking away. "What? Are you scared that you're the runt of the family?" Yuri taunted, hardly able to contain a burst of maniacal laughter as he teased the poor boy, Yuto placed a hand up to his forehead, "You guys are gonna give me a migraine one of these days..." He groaned.

Yuya suddenly burst into a fit of giggles, giving Yuri an excuse to let himself laugh like a lunatic freely, "Yuya you traitor!" Yugo yelled, Yuya tried to apologize, but couldn't get the words out, Yuzu decided that it was for the best that Yuri lost possession of the phone, she snatched it from his hands (he didn't notice, too busy laughing like a lunatic), she tossed it at Yugo, he quickly shoved the phone in his pocket.

"I just... was worried okay!" He said, "about your penis size?" Yuto asked. Yuri laughed harder, "well... yeah!" Yugo said, "you would too if your dragon was a female!" He yelled.

"...what?" Yuto said with a look of confusion, Yuri suddenly stopped laughing, his face remained in a maniacal position, but he was silent and stared at Yugo.

"What?" Yugo said with a flushed face, "sorry, you know what gender your dragon is?" Yuya asked with a look of confusion, "Well... yeah!" He said, "You see when I first transformed I went into some sort of _mental plane_ where I was with Clear Wing, and she was really cuddly..." Yugo said quickly, the girls looked confused, though the boys understood... mostly.

"Plus she's obviously a girl! You've seen her!" Yugo said as he pointed at himself, Yuto raised an eyebrow, "uh, not really..." he said.

"Well I was worried that Clear Wing being a girl might be saying something about... well..." Yugo said with a flushed face, "I just wanted to make sure, okay!?" He yelled.

Yuri suddenly burst back into his laughter, Yuto looked tired and Yuya was promptly dragged away from the conversation by Yuzu, "right, that's enough of that." She said.

Ruri gave a small, cold and damp washcloth to Yuto to put on his forehead, Yuto gladly accepted as he felt the cold temperature of the cloth calmed his increasingly stressed head. "I'm beginning to wonder if I even want Yugo and Yuri on the team..." he muttered.

Rin leaned against a wall in another room, she pinched her arm again, "Damn Yugo..." She muttered, a small tear forming in the corner of her eye, she decided that it was because she was pinching herself, it definitely wasn't her feelings.

Definitely.

* * *

"Sir, we've just received word from our inside man..." Said a man wearing a blue suit, he also wore a silver mask with red eyes, "The Arc-Evolution Tournament... it's starting..." He said.

A large figure sat on a large throne, was the throne necessary? Probably not, but it was still there. "Good, then the plan can finally move forward..." He said, "Any word from Roger?" He asked, "No sir, we heard that he became headmaster at Sector Academy... but we have lost all communication from him since." Said the silver-masked man, "Should we send somebody over?" He asked.

"...No, leave him be for now..." He said calmly, "You are now dismissed, leave me..." He said, "Yes sir!" Said the silver-masked man, quickly leaving the room.

"Are you sure we should be leaving Roger alone to his antiques?" Said the voice of a man who stood next to the one in the throne, even in the darkness, a large and toothy grin was visible on his face.

"Yes... everything will be fine..." He said, reassuring the man. "Roger is the least of our problems... we must focus on our main goal..." He said, "have our undercover students signed up yet?" He asked.

"Gehehe... yes sir, they have all signed up, we have exactly three teams in the tournament..."

"...Good..." Said the man in the throne, "now leave me, please..." He said. The other man bowed before leaving the room.

"...this is it..." Said the man in the throne to himself, "the fated day has finally come... I will not fail..." He said to himself.

* * *

"You want me to do what now?" Asked the voice of a blonde student, "Sawatari, I need you to do this..." Said the voice of a surprisingly tall gray-haired boy, "Just take this, and put it on his shirt, it'll become invisible shortly after being attached to something." He said, "Then, before the day ends, use this remote and press the button, it'll make it visible again, and it'll pop off, grab it, and bring it back to me." He said.

"...Any reason why we're doing this, Reiji?" Asked Sawatari.

Reiji looked around to make sure nobody was nearby, he turned to him, "You've seen the type of monsters this man uses, correct?" He asked, pointing to the picture, it was a picture of Yuya.

"Yeah, everyone knows by now..." Sawatari said, "apparently he calls them Pendulum Monsters, and I mean, I guess he has the right to name them..." He said, "Well, would you like to be able to use Pendulum Monsters as well?" Reiji asked. Sawatari's head shot up to look at him, "Well, of course! Are you saying this will let me unlock Pendulum Monsters?" Sawatari asked.

Reiji adjusted his glasses, "it's possible, trust me, this will be _very _worthwhile for you..." He said, looking him in the eye.

"Hm... okay fine! I'll do it!" Sawatari said, "I just need to get this thingie on him for a day right?" Sawatari asked, "AND get it back." Reiji said, tossing him the remote, Sawatari caught it and stuffed it in his pocket, "got it!" He said.

"Oh, and one more thing..." Reiji said, "Don't get caught." He said cryptically, Sawatari grinned, "of course!" He said, before leaving the room.

* * *

Yuya and his brothers went to sign up for the tournament first thing in the morning, their mindset was that this would help them grow stronger.

"Surprisingly empty..." Yugo said as they entered the room, the line to sign up was incredibly short, "I bet people are busy trying to find people to have on their team..." Yuto said. they reached the front of the line fairly quickly. "Hello! Are you here to sign up for the tournament?" Asked a peppy girl, he had short, blonde hair that went halfway down her neck, though it curled upwards at the ends, she wore a uniform similar to Yuzu's, except pink was replaced with green, her eyes shone a bright green, and she wore a hair accessory on her head that made it look like she had animal ears, although they looked a lot like leaves as well, her skin was a mostly white, but a light tan could be seen on her.

Next to her was the boy who sat in front of Yugo in class, "no they're here for the free hot dogs, of course, they're here for the tournament..." He said sleepily, the girl gave him a light smack in the head, "turn down the Witty Meter, Soul." She said bluntly.

"Yes, Ma'am..." Said the boy, his name apparently Soul, the girl next to him smiled nervously at the brothers, "forgive him, Soul is a little lethargic, but apparently never tired enough to NOT be witty..." She said, ruffling his hair, he swiped the hand away from his head, "cut it out, Syrup..." He said sleepily. The girl, whose name was apparently Syrup, grinned at him before taking out a clipboard, "please write down your team name and everyone who will be in it!" She said cheerily.

"Wait, team name?" Yugo said, "We need one of those?" He asked, Soul slowly raised his head to look at them, "yup... either that or we can make a name out of the first letters of your names..." He said, "but if I recall... all four of you have names that start with Y... and I don't think anybody wants to be called YYYY..." He said sleepily. "He's right you know," Yuri said, "I'm not having my name etched in history as 'Yuri of Team YYYY'" He said.

"How about the Yu-Crew?" Yugo asked.

"No."  
"Absolutely not."  
"I'd rather die."

"Aw..." Yugo said with a look of rejection.

"How about The Resistance?" Yuto asked.

"Too edgy, how about Lethal Dosage?" Yuri asked.

"Sounds evil, how about Yuya Sakaki's Entertainment Crew of Fun and Smiles?" Asked Yuya.

"What? No way! It's way too long!" Yuto said, "And how come your name is in it! What are we, your assistants?" Yuto asked, "Well would you like it to be called Yuto Sakaki's Entertainment Crew of Fun and Smiles? Or Yuya, Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri Sakaki's Entertainment Crew of Fun and Smi-" He began to say, Yugo cut him off. "How about we ditch the idea entirely? Agreed? Agreed." He said, ending the conversation before Yuya could respond.

The group bickered over a name, luckily not holding up the line since nobody stood behind them, Syrup sweatdropped nervously while Soul simply took out his laptop and began to type, ignoring the entire ordeal.

"Team Smiles!"

"No way, way too cringy."

"Team 5Ds!"

"YOU STOLE THAT"

"NO, I DIDN'T"

"YES YOU DID STOP STEALING THINGS THAT ARE COPYRIGHTED"

"IT ISN'T COPYRIGHTED"

"How about Team Suck-My-%#$ &$#!%%$#%^ "

"Jesus, Yuri!"

"CHILDREN will be watching, CHILDREN!"

"Team Part-Masochist?"

"We aren't masochists!"

"...actually, Yuri might be..."

"No, no he isn't, I have hit him on multiple occasions and he has not shown any form of pleasure from it, instead he has shown annoyance and pain, which is the goal."

"Damn, there goes five bucks..."

"You bet on me being a Masochist?"

"You bet on me driving off a cliff and into the ocean when I first used a D-Wheel!"

"Yes, except that was a fair assumption that we all worried would happen."

"What! But Yuya didn't bet!"

"Yeah, because I'm not about to bet on my brother's death, but I was still worried SOMETHING would happen..."

"I happen to be the best at driving a D-Wheel out of all four of us!"

"You also happen to be failing math class, _Fusion"_

"MY NAME IS NOT FUSION, IT'S YUGO, Y-U-G-O, YUGO!"

"Alright, what are you boys arguing about now?" Asked a voice from behind them, they all turned to see Yuzu and her sisters behind them, "We're competing too you know." She said, grinning. "Really?" Yuya asked, "That's great!" He said, "I wish you guys luck!" He said kindly, "You too!" Yuzu said, smiling.

"You know you guys are gonna be on different teams, right?" Said Yuri and Serena at the same time, Yuya and Yuzu blushed and quickly looked away from each other, Yuri and Serena grinned.

"Hey..." Said Soul, looking up from his computer, "I happen to be surprisingly creative... want me to give you guys a name?" He asked, Yuto shrugged, "We could use somebody else's advice I guess..." He said sheepishly.

"Hmm... all four of you use a powerful dragon, so..." He said, thinking for a few seconds.

"...You guys want a cool name, a cute name, or a simple name?" He asked, "...I dunno, cool name?" Yugo said.

"Alright... how about this?" He said, taking out his sketchbook and two pencils, resting his sketchbook against his lap, suddenly his eyes (eye, nobody could see his other eye) and his hands, a pencil in each, began to move at an unrealistic speed as he drew something on the paper.

He finally stopped and turned the sketchbook to face the brothers, on it was an incredibly dramatic set of words, artistically made to look cool, it read "The Four Heavenly Dragons" on it in large, rugged bubble letters, and was even made so that the letters form a shape of a winged dragon roaring into the sky.

"Whoa!" Yugo said, snatching the book out of his hands (to Soul's displeasure), they stared in awe at the incredible piece of art that had taken about 5 seconds to be created, Yuto raised his eyebrows, "I like it, what about you guys?" He asked, his brothers nodded, Yuya smiled and turned to Syrup, "I guess that'll be our name!" He said, Syrup smiled and wrote it down, meanwhile Soul typed something into his computer, Yugo noticed that it was a digital version of the list, he was also typing their information in.

"Alright, then if you boys are done signing up, it's our turn," Serena said, pushing them away from the line. "Our names are Yuzu, Ruri, Serena, and Rin Kurosaki. We'll be Team Goddess." She said, apparently they'd actually come with a viable team name.

"Alright... it's all in!" Syrup said as she wrote it down, "You do realize it needs to be digital right?" Soul asked as he typed in the information as well, "Yeah, well you never know when a physical version will come in handy!" She said defending herself, "also I can't use a computer for the life of me." She said sheepishly.

"You guys are like complete opposites..." Muttered Yuya as they talked, suddenly Syrup grabbed the boy next to her and began to carry him under her arm, Soul didn't even bother to resist, "well, we should probably get to class now!" She said, easily carrying the limp body under her and walking away, unlike Soul who was the very definition of edge, Syrup was similarly the very definition of bright and peppy.

As they walked past them, Soul reached out and snatched back his sketchbook from Yugo, before going limp again as though he wished to spend as little energy as possible.

"They look like good friends..." Yuto said as they walked off, "I guess opposites DO attract..." said Yuya.

"Well, Yuya and I have D-Wheel class up now, so I guess we'll see you guys at lunch!" Yugo said, "You know you should do good in more than just a class about D-Wheels you know!" Yuri said, earning himself a good look at Yugo's middle finger.

Yuya quickly ran after him, waving goodbye to his other two brothers, as he ran to Yugo, he passed by a blonde-haired boy in the hallway, suddenly the blonde gave him a hard slap on the back, causing Yuya to stagger in place, he turned around to face the boy. "H-Hey!" He said, the boy simply grinned at him, "have a nice day!" He said before quickly walking off.

"Hm..." Yuya said, scratching the back of his head, "I guess he was just being friendly..." He said before dismissing it and walking off.

The blonde boy was Sawatari, he quickly turned the corner and took out his phone, quickly texting Reiji that it was done.

Unbeknownst to him, Yuto and Yuri happened to have been watching and were staring at him with looks of intense suspicion. Sawatari felt a chill run down his back, though he didn't know why.

**Right, this chapter is finally done, and I'm going to take this time after this chapter to crawl into my bed and enter hibernation because I suddenly need a break from thinking about the plot.**

**IN THE MEANTIME THOUGH.**

**I have finally made an Archive of Our Own account (finally because it took three days to get an invitation).**

**Meaning now I am not only here on, but also on Ao3! So you can now pop on over there if you want! My name is the same as here, OddEyes588, however the Lemon Oneshots Fanfic is staying here, so only expect this to pop up on Ao3.**

**See you later!**


	6. Chapter 6: Game Start

**And we are back! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 6: Game Start**

The day of the tournament came surprisingly quickly, and it was BIG.

Seriously, it was like the school had turned into a giant festival.

Not to mention the strange ships that had arrived at the island.

Above them was what looked like an airship flying around the island, it had multiple blue and white flags, as well as large words that read "Sector Academy" in big white words on the side.

Yeah, turns out OTHER schools were participating, it was a big event, that's for sure.

Meanwhile to the side of the academy was a large battleship-looking fortress floating in the water next to the island, reading "Academia" on its side. "Yuri, didn't you want to go to Academia at first?" Yugo asked.

Yuri shrugged, "yeah, at first," He said, "then I got accepted here and well, Academia IS only the Second-Best, so I came here." He said nonchalantly, the girls were staring at the ship intently.

"Hey, what's up?" Yuya asked, Yuzu suddenly snapped out of her trance and turned to look at him, her sisters also shook their heads out of the trance. "O-Oh! Nothing…" She said, twirling a lock of her hair in her finger nervously, Yuya looked out at the ship they were staring at.

"Man… even Academia's here… I'm getting a little excited!" He said, smiling widely, Yuzu gave him a small smile back before walking off quickly with her sisters, leaving Yuya looking confused.

Kurosaki came up to the girls, "Don't worry," he said to the girls, "if he's the same man I know, he won't bother trying to find you." He said grimly, the girls nodded.

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed in their ears, they looked over at the loudspeaker it was coming from. "_All contestants, you will now be warped to the stadium in 10 minutes, please prepare yourselves…" _It boomed.

"Ah, so that's how we're getting into the stadium, warping," Yuri said nonchalantly, "Yugo! Get over here you heard it!" He yelled, Yugo suddenly appeared carrying a series of carnival snacks that he'd gotten from booths set up in the area, Corn Dogs, Soft Drinks, and a large plastic bag filled with candy apparently.

"Yugo, you do know we're going to be competing, right?" Yuto asked as he looked at the bag, Yugo snatched the bag from him, "They were really cheap okay!" He yelled defensively.

"I wonder how many people are competing… if there are other schools involved it may be too much…" Yuto muttered, "Apparently that's what the first round is about!" Said Serena, walking over to them, her sisters behind her.

"What do you mean?" Yuya asked curiously, Serena grinned, "It's just something I heard, apparently after this, we won't have to worry about having too many contestants," She said.

"I wonder what that means…" Yuya said before they all suddenly started glowing, "Oh? Is it happening?" Yuri said as they were enveloped in light.

When the light dissipated, they were no longer on the island anymore, instead, they were now in what looked like a giant football stadium, they looked around, the girls were nowhere near them anymore, but a large number of groups were near them.

"Oh, hey it's you guys…" Said a sleepy voice from behind them, they turned around and saw Syrup and Soul, the latter being currently carried under the arm of the other.

"Hi, guys!" Syrup said cheerily, however it was only her and Soul.

"Aren't we supposed to have teams of four?" Yuya asked. Syrup's smile remained on her face, though her eye actually twitched, "Well Soul said that he would find us two more members…" She said, still looking bright and peppy, "But turns out he promptly fell asleep in the Janitors Closet the second I left him unattended!" She said, her happiness now looking a little forced.

"So now it's just me and Soul! But that's fine!" She said cheerfully, Soul snored loudly, earning him what looked like a painful noogie from the girl carrying him. "Sorry…" He said lazily, wrestling free from her grip and now standing up.

They looked around and saw multiple different types of groups, though Academia teams, Sector teams, and UDA teams were easy to pick out, UDA Uniforms were optional to wear, so anybody from UDA was either wearing their uniform or just regular clothing, Sector teams, however, were all wearing a uniform of White and Blue, some even wore helmets that made them look like a police force.

Academia had mostly students with groups wearing either Red or Yellow uniforms and occasionally, there were also groups wearing Blue uniforms, which looked cleaner and frankly, more elite. They also wore silver masks with red eyes on them.

Also to their sides were large football stadium-like stands where a large audience sat, as they appeared a large cheering was heard, there was also a few VIP boxes floating in the sky nearby, as well as one incredibly large box.

Inside that box, were the three headmasters of the schools present.

Or rather, two of the headmasters, one of the chairs was empty, and standing next to it was an old, gray-haired man.

"Forgive me, but where is the headmaster of Academia?" Said Atem, looking at the old man, Yugi was sleeping in the corner, bags under his eyes, looking like he hadn't slept in a few days, even his usually spiky hair was drooping slightly.

The old man chuckled, or giggled? Nobody in the audience who were listening to them could tell (their voices were coming out of the loudspeakers nearby). "Unfortunately he has urgent matters to attend to and sent me here instead…" He said, "please, just call me Doctor…" He said, his eyes staring directly into Atem's eyes.

"...hm…" Atem said, turning away and avoiding his gaze, there was something about that man that didn't sit well in his stomach, suddenly he heard someone let out a sigh of relief, he turned to his other side where the headmaster of Sector Academy sat.

"Is there something wrong, Headmaster Roger?" Atem asked, staring at him intently, the man coughed. "No… nothing is wrong, Headmaster Atem…" He said, a grin on his face.

Yet another man that didn't sit well with him, "A shame what happened to the previous headmaster…" Atem said, sharpening his gaze, the man's smile remained for exactly one second before dropping to a frown, "yes, a shame…" He said, "He left large shoes to fill when he passed… but I shall work hard every day to fill them…" He said softly.

The previous headmaster had apparently died in a plane crash, Atem didn't like him, but if he had to choose based on the first impression he is getting from the man sitting in his place, he'd choose the previous headmaster, he didn't know why, but he didn't feel like he could trust the man.

"Well, enough of that…" Atem said as he stood up, "Let us now announce what the Preliminary Round shall be…" He said with a mysterious smile, Yugi slowly opened his eyes and rubbed them, he grabbed a cup that laid next to him and yawned, walking over to a coffee machine that was on the wall behind him.

"Hello everyone," He said into the loudspeaker, "We thank you all for coming to the first Arc-Evolution Tournament!" He boomed, "Now, we shall explain the rules for the preliminary round, but first…" He said, snapping his fingers.

Suddenly, the stands began to separate from the ground, flying up into the sky, loud rumbling reverberated through the area. "WHAT THE HECK!?" Yugo yelled as the stands rose, they saw no scenery around them from behind the stands, they only saw the sky.

Yugo and many others ran to the edge.

"WHAT THE HEEEEEECK!?" He yelled, staring down.

They were in the SKY.

They were on what looked like a floating island in the sky, Atem snapped his fingers again, suddenly, two glowing cards appeared on either of his sides. "Come! Dark Magician! Dark Magician Girl!" He yelled, the cards burst into light and in their places were two floating spellcasters, one was a purple-haired wizard holding a green staff, the other was a blonde girl wearing similar clothing, except:

Blue, Yellow, and Pink

A short blue staff with a yellow tip

...Revealing clothing

They phased through the glass on the floating box and flew further into the air, they stopped in the air and faced each other and closed their eyes, clutching their staffs.

Suddenly, a purple pentagram appeared beneath them, surrounded by letters in an unknown language, suddenly a beam of light shot from the center and hit the ground.

Purple energy pulsed through the ground, suddenly everyone began to float into the air, the island began to change, trees sprouted from the ground and the island expanded to a size that made its original size look like the size of an ant.

Atem began to speak into the loudspeaker again as multiple drones and floating cameras flew past the contestants to different areas of the island. "This will be an all-out battle royale!" He said, his voice booming, Yugi came up next to him to take over.

"The rules are simple…" He said, sounding surprisingly awake for the bags that hung under his eyes, "You and your teams will all be warped to different areas of the island together," He explained, "Scattered across this island is a large amount of glowing, white orbs…" He said. As he said that, a large number of glowing white orbs flew around the floating contestants, allowing them to know what to look for.

"These are essentially your true ticket into the tournament!" He said, "Your goal is to find one of these orbs, and bring it back here!" He said as a large pedestal as big as a football stadium rose from the ground, "Each team only needs one, once your team has passed, you will become unable to touch the orbs, and you will be notified." He said.

Atem took over, "However, there are not enough orbs for all of you…" He said, "Once all of the orbs have been claimed, the round will end, and if you don't have an orb…" He said, "You will no longer be participating in the tournament!" He said.

"So that's what's happening…" Yuto muttered.

"Heh, it definitely makes sense…" Serena said, grinning.

"They're weeding out the weaklings from the competition…" said Kurosaki, he felt a hand place itself on his shoulder, he turned around to see Reiji behind him.

Shun growled and shrugged him off, "You know, for apparent stepbrothers… you guys don't like each other much…" Sawatari said. Kurosaki glared at them both, "I still don't know if I can trust you… you're related to my father after all…" He said, Reiji adjusted his glasses, "and so are you, how do I know if I can trust you?" He said, grinning.

Kurosaki growled in response.

* * *

_ Flashback (One day after the tournament was announced)_

* * *

"You."

Kurosaki turned around to face the person who spoke to him, there he saw a boy who was similar to him in height, his hair was gray and he wore a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt, as well as a red scarf that frankly baffled Shun, but he decided not to bring it up.

"Yeah?" He said as he turned to face him, he really didn't need this right now, he needed to somehow find a potential teammate for the tournament, Yuto had his brothers, and his sisters had each other, of course, joining alone was also an option, but he figured that'd make things much harder, and he should at least have one person, he had noticed a blonde and blue haired boy in one of his classes who looked strong, his name was Kaito.

"My name is Reiji, Reiji **Akaba**." He said, Kurosaki froze and glared at him, "...What?" He said, his face contorting into a face of rage.

"Your father is also my father…" He said, adjusting his glasses, "You and your sisters are my stepsiblings." He said calmly, Kurosaki continued to get angrier as he continued to speak.

"Before your father met your mother, he was married to MY mother," He said, "His relationship with your mother was an affair, something that inevitably caused my parents to divorce…" He said, Kurosaki began to slowly walk up to him, his fist clenched.

He grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt, Kurosaki glared at him, his face never changed from its current poker face.

"I like my father about as much as you do, Shun Kurosaki," He said calmly, Kurosaki growled, "So? You wanna be buddies so we can talk about how much our dad sucks?" He said angrily, Reiji ignored the rhetorical question, "I need your help, and once you hear what I have to say, you'll need mine as well." He said.

"You're going to need more than help soon…" he muttered under his breath.

"Our father is planning something," He said, "something that involves your-no OUR sisters, and not in a good way." He said, "I don't know what it is, but unless you want something bad to happen to them, you will need to join me…" He said calmly.

"Or, you can tell me right now, and I'll deal with it myself…" Kurosaki said menacingly, Reiji slowly raised his hand and grabbed the arm that nearly suspended him off the ground, "I doubt you would be able to do that," He said, "Oh really?" Kurosaki responded as he clenched his fist harder.

"...It seems words aren't enough to convince you…" Reiji said, "then how about a deal?" He asked. Kurosaki continued to glare at him.

Reiji sighed, before raising his other hand and snapping his fingers, in an instant, someone dressed as what Kurosaki could only describe as a Ninja, lept between them, slapped Kurosaki's hand away, and immediately disappeared.

"W-What the!?" Kurosaki exclaimed as he stumbled backward, he quickly balanced himself as the gray-haired boy brushed some dust off of the front of his shirt and adjusted his glasses.

"Duel me." Said Reiji, "If you win, I'll tell you everything I know, and you won't have to talk to me again." He said, "However, should I win, you will join my team and we work together, with me." He said.

Kurosaki grinned, "Alright, sure, I'll gladly beat you down…" He said as he cracked his knuckles, "Then we have a deal," Reiji said before walking off, "follow me, I have an arena reserved." He said.

"Reserved?" Kurosaki said before realizing what that meant, "You expected you'd need to do this, didn't you?" Kurosaki said.

Reiji simply grinned.

* * *

_ End of Flashback_

* * *

Considering the fact that Kurosaki was on Reiji's team, you can probably figure out on your own how well the duel went.

"Some of the orbs will be hidden…" Atem said, "They could be one hidden in a series of rooms, or you could find one sitting under a rock…" He said as the orbs suddenly disappeared, "But others will be in the open, but considerably harder to get…" He said as all of the teachers appeared on the ground under them.

"You may find that some of them will be… well guarded." Atem said with a grin on his face, the teachers suddenly glowed before disappearing as well.

"What's the plan?" Yuya asked, "I say we stay low and search for an orb and get back as quickly as possible," Said Yuto.

"You can't guarantee that we'll find one, I say we stalk other teams and when THEY get an orb, we swoop in and steal their orb!" Said Yuri, giving malicious looks at the other teams.

"Why don't we just find one of the ones that are guarded and fight whoever's guarding them for it?" Asked Yugo, "Right, because fighting a teacher for an orb is DEFINITELY a good idea…" Said Yuri angrily.

"They wouldn't put it out there if it wasn't possible," Said Yuya, "They're probably going to be holding back to a level that's possible for us…" He said.

"We shouldn't assume that," Said Yuto, "We need a plan that will definitely get us passed…" He said as he pondered.

They didn't get to debate much more, they weren't given that luxury.

"This round will last until every orb has been recovered," Said Atem, "And with that…" He said as the bubbles holding everyone began to glow.

"Game… Start!"

* * *

"...Huh!?" Yuya exclaimed as the light faded.

He looked around and saw his brothers flailing around.

They also happened to not be touching the ground.

Yuya looked down, neither was he, they were falling.

Yuya let out a scream of terror as he realized that the ground was approaching, and quickly.

"Crap…!" He said as he quickly adjusted himself, "Odd-Eyes!" He yelled as he grasped the red and green card and transformed, the added weight, however, caused him to fall faster, he hit the ground with a loud crash, though he got up (mostly) unfazed.

"Clear Wing! CLEAR WING!" Yugo practically shrieked as he grasped a white card and transformed into the white dragon, safely stopping his quick descent and replacing it with a slower and more controlled one.

Yuri placed his hands behind his head and seemingly laid down as he fell, he yawned as a purple card appeared in front of his face, "this is fine…" he muttered as he grabbed the card and transformed into Starving Venom, Yuto quickly grabbed his own, light-blue card and transformed into his own dragon.

Meanwhile… everyone else dealt with the situation in their own ways.

"Soul!" Screamed Syrup as they fell through the sky, "THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE SLEEPING!" She screamed. Though all she got was a loud snore. "Soul!" She screamed, "transform already!" She yelled.

Soul rubbed his eyes sleepily, "oh… falling… kay gimme a second…" He said lazily as he grabbed an orange card and transformed, "Armed Dragon… Level 3…" He said lazily as he reappeared as a small, yellow dragon and promptly fell back asleep.

"Don't go back to sleep you idiot!" She yelled as she transformed as well, "Apprentice Illusion Magician!" She yelled as she was covered in orange light, reappearing as a dark-skinned, female magician that resembled the Dark Magician Girl that had appeared next to Atem.

She quickly flew to him and grabbed him, "Falling to your death and sleep is still the highest thing on your list of priorities…" She groaned as they descended slowly towards the ground.

Meanwhile, Reiji's team was also plummeting to the ground, though Reiji seemed completely calm.

"Kurosaki, could you please?" He asked, "Tch…!" Kurosaki grunted as a glowing light-blue card appeared in front of him, an Xyz monster.

"Obscured Falcon, raise your sharpened talons in the face of adversity! Spread your wings of rebellion!" He yelled as he grabbed the card and crushed it in his hands, the light began to envelop him, almost looking like wings.

"Appear! Raidraptors - Rise Falcon!" He yelled as he transformed.

The light disappeared, and in its place was a large, mechanical bird that was practically armed to the teeth, it let out a loud cry that sounded much like a whistle, but like a bird as well, in a way.

He quickly flew down below his "teammates", Reiji, Sawatari, and some kid who frankly shocked Kurosaki when he found out were in the team, considering his age, his name was Reira, and he was apparently Reiji's adopted brother.

Shun couldn't help but think about the pure insanity that was his family.

Shun: Older Brother

Ruri: Second Oldest (Oldest Sister)

Serena: Third Oldest (Second Oldest Sister)

Rin: Fourth Oldest (Third Oldest Sister)

Yuzu: Fifth Oldest (Fourth Oldest Sister)

And now…

Reiji: Step-Brother

Reira: Adoptive Step-Brother

So all in all, Seven Siblings, and don't even get him started on the PARENTS.

Shun resolved to punch the next person he hears say "My family is too big!" Or anything even remotely similar, he also resolved to shoot missiles at the next person who says that they're his "long lost family member" again.

Kurosaki had already been given enough proof that he and Reiji were related, in fact, the second he brought up the topic, Reiji gave him a picture of his birth certificate, a rather boring looking photo of him as a child standing next to his father, and even copies of the divorce papers between him and Reiji's mother.

Kurosaki couldn't help but think he was overly prepared to prove their relation.

Anyways, none of that mattered now, all he knew was that whether he liked it or not, he was working with these guys.

Although he wasn't pleased about literally carrying them on his back.

Meanwhile, the battle cry of a large man echoed for a few miles.

"IF I CAN'T TAKE THIS FALL, I WON'T BE ABLE TO TAKE ANYTHING AT ALL!" Yelled Gongenzaka as he fell, incredibly quickly however considering his large size and weight.

Meanwhile, Sora (the only other person teamed with Gongenzaka) laughed out loud, "You know, it'd be great if you didn't die straight from the get-go!" He yelled after him.

"Come forth! Superheavy Samurai, Big Benkei!" He yelled, grabbing an orange card that floated in front of him, he glowed as he increased in size and changed into the form of a large, mechanical Samurai.

Yeah, this just made him fall faster.

He hit the ground with a crash so loud you could hear it for miles, and a large cloud of dust flew into the air, covering a great deal of the area, as for Gongenzaka, he laid in his monster from inside a giant crater, made by his own impact.

Meanwhile, Sora had transformed into a monster called "Fluffal Sheep", a monster that looked more like a stuffed animal than a duel monster, and just gently floated down to the ground.

"You okay, big guy?" Sora asked, reverting to his human form.

"...I'm fine…" He said, slowly getting up, "A real man would be able to take a fall like that and walk away fine, AND I AM A REAL MAN!" He yelled.

"_Actually I think a fall like that would kill any normal human…" _Sora thought to himself as the large monster lifted itself up, Sora quickly climbed him and sat on his shoulder, "forward march!" He yelled, Gongenzaka yelled something about how he wasn't a steed, but he ended up giving Sora a ride anyways.

_Meanwhile..._

"So…" Said Yuya, "Any idea where we could find an orb?" He asked.

"I mean, we COULD just turn over every single stone in the area…" Said Yuri, "Or we can do the smart thing and wait for somebody else to get one, then steal it from them," he said.

"Can't we just go for that one?" Yugo asked as he pointed at a floating white orb hanging above what looked like a large city.

"...You know what? It's probably gonna be guarded, but okay, let's go." Said Yuto, transforming back into a dragon (they'd all reverted back).

Everyone else transformed and flew (ran in Yuya's case) towards the area.

* * *

"Soul? Maybe now would be a good time for you to start storing up energy," Said Syrup as she stared at a large tower, a single figure standing on top.

He was carrying one of the orbs.

He was also a teacher.

"Which teacher is it?" Soul asked, rubbing his eyes, still in the form of Armed Dragon LV3, "Mr. Jonouchi" She said bluntly.

Sure enough, the blonde teacher stood on top of the tower, "Oh? Somebody's here already?" He said out loud, loud enough for them to hear him despite how high up he was. "You want this thing? Then come and get it!" He yelled.

"That's what we'll do!" Yelled Syrup, grinning, suddenly she grabbed the small yellow dragon under her and chucked him at the teacher, Soul opened his eyes a little bit as he began to descend and crashed into a lower platform of the tower, before lazily getting up.

"Come! Naturia Beast!" Yelled Syrup, grasping a white card and transforming into a green tiger-like beast, who looked like something between an animal and a tree, she jumped up and began to run up the side of the tower.

"Impressive, I know I gotta hold back a bit, but let's do this!" Yelled Jonouchi, suddenly an orange card with a glowing red center appeared in front of him, "Come forth! Red Eyes Black Dragon!" He yelled, grabbing it, instantly he was surrounded in light and flames as he transformed, the sky even seemed to turn red.

The sheer force of the transformation knocked Syrup off the tower, suddenly there was a large orange light, "Evolve… Armed Dragon, Level 5!" Yelled Soul, suddenly glowing and increasing in size, he was now red and covered in more spikes, and even some drills.

Plant life suddenly sprang from the bottom of the tower, catching Syrup, they stared up at the top of the tower.

Standing there, with the orb in its claw, was a large black dragon with gleaming red eyes.

"...Can we run and find some other orb?" Asked Soul, "Relax! He's holding back so we can take him!" She said cheerfully.

"Actually no, you're a bad matchup for him in that form, your Illusion Apprentice form doesn't have enough magic power to even faze him, and it's gonna take me a while to get to a state where I can evolve to a level that can take him on…" He said, pointing out a lot of facts.

"Stop being such a downer! We can do this!" She said optimistically.

Soul sighed, "we're gonna die…" he muttered under his breath.

* * *

"Rend and tear all of our enemies! _**BRAVE CLAW REVOLUTION!**_"

Kurosaki in his form as Rise Falcon had suddenly become some giant freaking flame bird and just tore through two entire teams, although to be fair, they were all weaklings compared to him.

They had seen a large city-like area in the giant landscape they were given to fight on, it was clearly uninhabited, but it was really just made for a place for duelists to duke it out.

And when an orb was just sitting there in plain sight completely unguarded, you could imagine the amount of chaos that had flocked to it.

"Come on! Grab the damn thing!" Yelled Sawatari, transformed into a monster called Ultimate Dart Striker. He jumped onto Kurosaki, using him as an essential extra-platform (to Kurosaki's annoyance) to get to the orb that had been thrown in the air by the fighting.

Unfortunately, it was stolen from him right as he reached it.

"HAAAAAAH!" Yelled the voice of Yuya, jumping into the air as Odd-Eyes and crashing into both Sawatari and the orb, Yuya ended up falling on top of him while the orb was sent flying some other way, the skirmish between all of the other duelists followed it.

"You IDIOT! I almost had it!" Yelled Sawatari.

"Huh!? I wanted it though!" Yelled Yuya in response.

"Less talking, more dueling!" Yelled Kurosaki, charging straight at the both of them, they quickly jumped away to avoid him.

"Hey, asshole! I'm on your team!" Yelled Sawatari while Yuya yelped.

"Shut up! I never asked to be on your team," yelled Shun, "And you! You have your eyes on my sister, don't you!" Yelled Kurosaki, charging directly at Yuya. "Huh!? What!? Which one!? And WHAT!?" Yelled Yuya in protest.

"Shut up! I thought about trusting you but not anymore!" He yelled, "WHAT!?" Yelled Yuya as he dodged another attack from the giant bird, "that makes no sense! Which sister!? And why do you even think that!?" He yelled as he ran, baffled by the unfairness that was this entire situation.

"You're always hanging around Yuzu!" Yelled Kurosaki.

"Yeah! We're best friends!" Yelled Yuya.

"YOU DONT HAVE PERMISSION TO BE A BEST FRIEND!" Yelled Kurosaki.

"HUH!?" Yelled Yuya as Kurosaki nearly crashed into the ground in an attempt to crush the dragon.

"Should we go and help him?" Asked Yugo, who was flying above them in the sky watching the whole thing unfold.

"Just let Shun get it out of his system, he's just mad and wants to find a reason to vent," Said Yuto calmly, "but he's gonna kill Yuya, and if he kills Yuya, Yuri's gonna kill Kurosaki, and I'm gonna wanna help him, and so are you, probably," Said Yugo as another crash was heard.

"Yuya will be fine, he's tough, and Shun never kills, he just beats you to near death," Said Yuto with a frighteningly calm poker face.

"RANK UP! Ferocious Falcon, break through this fierce battle and spread your wings! Destroy my gathering foes! Descend now! Raidraptors - Blaze Falcon!" He yelled as he began to glow a dark red light, a light-blue card appeared in front of him before shattering as he changed forms into a similar mechanical bird, except with a different design and colored a bright red.

"...On second thought, we should probably help him…" Yuto said nervously as they witnessed the duelist change forms.

At once, all of them swooped down to Yuya's side as flying red projectiles shot off of the red bird and began to fire lasers at the dragons. "Yugo!" Yelled Yuto, "Right! _**DICHROIC SHOWER!**_" Yelled Yugo, his wings suddenly glowed and fired multiple powerful beams of green light from his wings.

The beams collided with the lasers and tore through them, destroying the drone-like weapons, "that's not all, _**DICHROIC MIRROR!**_" Yelled Yugo as his wings glowed brighter, firing a single large stream of light at the bird.

"D/D/D, Flame King Genghis!" Yelled the voice of Reiji, who had transformed into a Fusion Monster cloaked in flames, he held up his shield and blocked the beam of light before it hit Kurosaki.

"It's time for a tactical retreat…" He said calmly, though Kurosaki looked as visibly annoyed a metal bird could be.

Reiji waved a large, burning sword, and suddenly they were surrounded in flames, and before any of the brothers could react, they'd disappeared.

"Huh… that was something…" Said Yuri.

"Crap! The orb!" Yelled Yuya, all of them snapped their heads towards where the sounds of battle came from, "get it damn it!" Yelled Yugo as they charged into the skirmish.

* * *

A gust of wind blew past as the four girls laid limply in different trees.

Yeah, they didn't land properly, mostly because of Rin, who had tried to do SOMETHING with her ability as a Windwitch monster to control the wind. but had instead blown every single one of them into a fairly large tree.

"...What exactly were you trying to do here, Rin?" Asked Ruri with a kind tone, despite the fact she was hanging upside down.

"I spotted another team and I wanted to send a tornado in their direction!" She exclaimed, she was hanging sideways with her limbs caught on many different branches.

"Can you even make tornadoes yet?" Asked Serena, who had actually fallen in a fairly comfortable position, almost as though she was laying down.

"...No…" Said Rin sheepishly.

Yuzu, who had ended up NOT caught in branches and was instead hanging onto a long branch that extended far away from the tree, for dear life, yelled back at them. "Guys? Little help?" She asked.

"You can fly as a monster Yuzu! I think we're the ones in need of help right now! Yelled Serena.

A few seconds passed, there was a flash of orange light.

Then, Yuzu pushed away some branches as she entered the tree as a monster called "Mozarta the Melodious Maestra".

"Hold on you guys, I'll get you guys out…" Yuzu sighed.

"Forgot you can fly, huh?" Serena asked. Yuzu's face flushed, "I forgot in the heat of the moment! Shut up!" She said, embarassment filling her face.

"So… any idea where to go from here?" Asked Rin as Yuzu untangled her, "What about going after those guys?" Asked Ruri, pointing at a group of dragons that were flying in the sky above them.

They were also holding an orb.

They all blinked.

"Right, time to kick some ass…" Said Serena, cracking her knuckles as a glowing purple card appeared in front of her.

* * *

Atem sipped a cup of coffee as he observed the area, grinning mysteriously.

"Hey… Atem… can I have the rest of that?" Asked Yugi, pointing at the coffee cup in Atem's hand. "Partner… maybe you should get some rest…" He said kindly, "No… can't do that… too much to do… too much to manage…" He muttered sleepily.

"I'll handle it, relax Yugi," Said Atem kindly, "relax… yeah I guess that sounds nice…" muttered Yugi as his eyes slowly closed, he let out a loud snore as he lost conciousness, but managed to remain standing up.

Atem slowly got up and gave him a light push with his finger, he began to fall backward, and in an instant, five hairy ball-creatures, each a different color, appeared under him, catching his fall and allowing him to lay down. One of them was bigger than the others by about an inch, and was colored brown.

Atem saluted, "thank you Kuriboh Brothers, please take Yugi back to his room and put him on the bed, and make sure he actually gets some rest and doesnt wake up in an hour to do more work," He said, they all peered their heads out from underneath the boy they were supporting and let out kind little coos as if to say "got it!"

Servant Spirits, though Atem didn't believe them to be servants, were quite useful.

Speaking of Servant Spirits, he looked up to check on Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, who were the one's managing to keep the island from falling, they were both standing in a large purple magic circle with their eyes closed, surprisingly enough, keeping something this big in the air was easy for them.

Although he couldn't shake a powerful feeling of Deja Vu that he was feeling as he looked at the battles taking place, but it he quickly dismissed it as nothing, despite the feeling.

Finally, he glanced at the headmaster of Sector Academy, Roger. Something felt off about him, and his hunches were usually correct.

He silently called forth another Kuriboh spirit, the last of his Servant Spirits available to him, he whispered into its ear, "I need you to keep an eye on that man…" he said, gesturing to the man sitting in the seat, "do not be caught, and report everything you find to me…" he said, the floating puffball nodded and suddenly, vanished into thin air.

Now that that was handled, all he had to do was watch what happens next.

He still felt as though something was going to happen soon, but he decided that no matter what it was, he and the other teachers could handle it.

He and Yugi weren't known as the strongest duelists in history for nothing, after all.

**Alrighty, that chapter is done, and I hope you all enjoyed it!**

**One thing to mention, when you think about it, if Kurosaki is related to all of the Bracelet Girls, and Leo is their father, wouldn't that also make them siblings with Reiji and Reira?**

**Yeah, that family is… large.**

**In the meantime though, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all next time!**


	7. Chapter 7: Grand Power of Souls

**Please understand, there will never be an actual deadline with any of the next chapters, because every time I write something, it's only when "I feel like it"**

**Meaning sometimes I'll be sitting in class, and suddenly: "Oh shit, I just had a really great idea for what happens next" and I'll write again, but then afterward I'll just stop, like "Alright, that's enough of that"**

**Soul is kind of like my spirit animal in this sense because sometimes I just lose all energy and just fall asleep, other times though, I'll suddenly just HAVE to do something.**

**The perks of just being a fanfic writer, I don't have deadlines, I'll work on this thing whenever the heck I want (Though I do want to make sure there isn't TOO long of a time gap between chapters (I don't like it when stories stay inactive for a long time without any reason, mind you, I understand those authors probably think about their story for a longer period of time than what I do, but if I don't like it, I'm not about to do it)**

**Also, somebody asked me who was my first ship in Yugioh, that'd be Skyshipping with Yuma and Kotori. See, I always heard and knew about Yugioh, but I never actually **_**got into the game or bothered to watch or learn the rules.**_

**That changed though one day when I randomly thought "okay, I'll give Yugioh a try"**

**At this point in time, Yugioh Zexal was the most recent series and had just gotten to its second season, I went ahead and watched the first episode, and well, I got hooked.**

**So yeah, I watched Zexal, then went back and watched everything else (the exception being GX, simply because I was too lazy to watch more than DM and 5Ds, and only got through like five episodes before saying "okay, I know enough".**

**Anyways, enough of that, here's the chapter.**

**Chapter 7: Grand Power of Souls**

"Soul? How much longer until another level up?" Asked Syrup.

"...about a minute, hold on…" he muttered, closing his eyes.

"I DON'T HAVE A MINUTE!" She yelled as a blast of fire crashed against the magic barrier she had put up using the power of her form as Apprentice Illusion Magician, a crack appeared where the flames struck.

Soul snored, Syrup felt an incredible urge to smack him across the back of his head, but couldn't because she had to focus on keeping the barrier up for a full minute, something that seemed to be harder than what it sounds like when _the thing is about to break_.

Soul didn't show concern though since he apparently went back to sleep.

"Soul, how much sleep do you get at night!?" Syrup yelled, "ten hours… why?" He said, "though if we add the time I sleep during the day…" He said before promptly closing his eyes and snoring again.

"Where the heck is all of your energy!?" Syrup yelled as more cracks formed, she groaned as she felt her barrier straining.

Soul suddenly opened his eyes, "alright done, Evolve, Armed Dragon Level 7," He said, his body glowing as he grew in size, as he grew he placed his large arms around Syrup, she let the barrier fall and the flames struck Soul's growing arms as he protected her.

The light dissipated revealing a dragon that was even bigger than the Red-Eyes they were fighting, his scales a dark red and he was somehow covered in even MORE spikes and drills.

"If you're really holding back, then I won't even have to go Level 10 for this…" Muttered Soul, "Damn… I really can't fight harder than how I'm fighting now?" Muttered Jounouchi, "I guess it'd be unfair if I did though…" He muttered.

Syrup returned to her form as a human as Soul lifted her onto his shoulder, she had been running around trying to stall for time while Soul stored up the energy to evolve, and she was exhausted.

"Soul… why did you… have to get a Level-Up monster?" She asked while panting, "It's so inconvenient…" she gasped, Soul shrugged (though that caused Syrup to have to suddenly grab a spike from the armor she was sitting on to stay on top of him), "It suits me… I don't even have to try too hard and I can easily get to a powerful form…" He said sleepily.

"Now… give us the orb, I have other things to do right now so I'd like to pass us as soon as possible…" He said as they faced each other.

"Heh, sorry kid, but I never give up…" Said Jounouchi, spreading his wings and roaring, Soul sighed and roared back.

"You actually gonna put effort in?" Asked Syrup, "Just until we can get the orb and pass… I wanna go back to bed, or write, or draw…" He muttered, "So you just relax…"

"You need to put your energy into more than just things you can do while laying down…" Said Syrup.

* * *

"Lunalight Cat Dancer!" Yelled Serena as she was covered in purple light, one of the dragons, specifically somebody transformed into an Alexandrite Dragon, looked down to see a purple-skinned, large breasted female monster flying towards him, it wore colorful clothing, and incredibly large blue ribbons stretching down from other areas in her clothing, and she wore a mask that gave her the look of a cat.

I said "flying", but more accurately, she had jumped high into the air and was currently being propelled at the dragons by powerful winds, courtesy of Rin, who had transformed into a monster called Windwitch Winter Bell, a monster that looked a little human, except a little mechanical as well, as lines of energy ran through its body, it had something similar to fins as arms, and another large fin at the top of her head.

She also had something that looked like it could be ridden on instead of legs, it was a little weird, but somehow, still looked beautiful.

"Take this!" Yelled Serena, raising a hand that had nails like claws, the blue ribbons adorning her also glowed a bright blue. She slashed the dragon right in the chest and he roared out in pain, Serena gritted her teeth, "damn… didn't get a good enough hit in…" She muttered as she began to plummet back to the ground, her mobility lessened considerably if she activated flight so she just let herself fall.

Instead, she just allowed herself to fall until she was about to hit the ground, where she only THEN activated flight and stopped herself from crashing against the ground, she gently touched down and dashed back to the tree her sisters were in.

"Can't say I didn't warn her…" Said Rin, "Alright you two, we can actually fly normally, so let's go!" Said Ruri as she grasped a light blue card. "Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale!" She yelled, transforming into a Harpy-like monster with wings instead of arms and large claws for legs, though her body and head remained mostly human, even they gained some bird features, her skin changed into a mint-green and she wore colors of light blue, dark blue, and pink.

Yuzu was already transformed, into the Standard Monster, Mozarta the Melodious Maestra, she flew up alongside Rin and Ruri towards the team above them that consisted of two Alexandrite Dragons, one Luster Dragon, and one Assault Wyvern, who was holding the orb.

"**Graceful Wave!" **Yelled Yuzu, sending a wave of energy towards them and hitting all of them at once, the Assault Wyvern had the orb knocked out of its hands.

"Crap!"  
"Damn it, Joe! This is why I should have carried the thing!"

Ruri quickly swooped underneath them and caught the orb in her claw, she began to flap her arms/wings to fly higher into the air, the Luster Dragon flew after her, Ruri grinned, "_all according to plan…" _She thought as she flapped her wings and flew up further, the Luster Dragon can't actually fly on its own, so it uses the flight power to fly, however, Ruri's form could fly naturally, and was much faster, she taunted the dragon by staying in far from him, but close enough to make him think he'll catch up.

"Rin!" Yelled Yuzu, she let out a harmonic cry as she let out another wave of energy, blasting back the other dragons. Rin came up from behind her and glowed as she let out a cry as well, causing powerful winds to circle around them, Yuzu quickly reverted back to her human form (to make her smaller) and grabbed onto Rin.

"Crap…! The wind's too strong…!" Yelled one of the Alexandrites, the Assault dragon looked down in his struggle to keep steady in the winds, only to see something else.

"Wait… is that…?" He said as it came closer.

"**Full Moon Mayhem!" **

Suddenly, the form of Lunalight Cat Dancer, Serena, had appeared and in an instant and slashed down every single one of the dragons, glowing a bright blue, Serena activated flight this time to remain in the air while the transformations on the three dragons dissipated, Rin's eyes glowed and a strong upward gust of wind caught the unconscious boys and had them hover in the air, Serena floated over and grabbed them.

"How did you… get this high up…?" Asked one of the boys, who was fading in and out of consciousness.

Serena grinned, "I jumped really high!" She said bluntly, "...what…?" Said the boy before he promptly lost consciousness. In truth, it had a little more to it, Serena ran to a certain area, gathered energy up in her legs, and waited for just the right moment to jump into the fray.

"Three people at once is the most I can do with that attack, so Ruri did well in drawing one of them away," She said, speaking of which, Ruri had just regrouped with the girls, carrying an orb in one talon and another unconscious boy in her other talon.

"Let's set these guys down somewhere and get back to the pedestal," Said Yuzu, her sisters nodded in agreement, they descended back to the ground and dropped off the duelists underneath a tree, Serena then reverted back to human form and climbed onto Ruri's back, Ruri handed Yuzu the orb.

"You two are our fastest fliers, we'll ride on you guys so that way we don't end up losing each other," Said Yuzu as she held onto Rin with a tighter grip.

"Alright! Let's go!" Said Yuzu, "Yeah!" Said her sisters together, and they flew off as fast as they could.

In a way, they had both a bad start and a good start.

* * *

"I got it! I GOT IT!" Yelled Yugo, before being knocked out of the sky by a large golem monster, who had thrown somebody else at the flying dragon, despite what the duelist who had become a projectile thought about being thrown. (It's probably obvious, but his thoughts on the process can be explained by what he yelled as he flew through the air: "OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-")

The orb was knocked out of his hands, luckily Yuri was there to catch it, "Nice job butterfingers!" He yelled, "I have a foolproof plan to make sure nobody gets this thing!" Yelled Yuri, lifting up the orb and placing it in his mouth.

"He wouldn't…" Said Yuya.

"Oh my god…" Said Yuto.

Yuri closed his mouth (to be clear, he was transformed into Starving Venom), and swallowed the thing.

Everything went silent, except for one guy who yelled: "Oh come on!"

"YURI ARE YOU AN IDIOT!?" Yelled Yugo, "Oh relax, I can regurgitate this thing at will in this form, trust me, I've done it before," Said Yuri, completely aware that this was grossing Yugo out, and relishing the fact.

"...Reira, it's your turn…" Said Reiji as they watched from the top of a building, "Yes… brother…" Said the child, he jumped off the building.

"Come, C/C Critical Eye!" He yelled as he fell, grasping an orange card in his hand, he changed into a strange creature that really was just a glaring, red eye.

Time suddenly slowed down for him, his eye flickered around until it had looked at every monster below it.

His eye stopped suddenly as it locked onto the purple dragon that was Yuri.

"Monster in sight… type… Fusion…" He muttered, "Changing now… come forth!" He yelled.

Suddenly he started to glow a bright purple, "C/C/C Rock Sword of Battle!" He yelled.

The light disappeared, he had changed into a sword that looked like it was made out of rocks, earth, and other pieces of nature as well, the red eye had shrunk and now sat near the hilt of the sword.

"Huh?" Said Yuri, looking up.

Suddenly the sword slashed at Yuri, Yuri quickly jumped back, just narrowly avoiding the blade, "T-That was close…" He muttered.

He wasn't given much more time.

Suddenly, Reira turned around to have his hilt facing Yuri instead of his blade, he flew towards Yuri at a speed that the brothers could barely perceive with their eyes.

Reira crashed directly into Yuri's stomach, sinking the hilt deep into the dragon.

Yuri's yellow eyes visibly widened in pain, his mouth hung open and a long, loud groan/squeak came out.

The eye that was near the hilt showed no emotion.

Suddenly, Yuri let out a hacking noise and spat out the orb, saliva covered and everything.

"...I think I'm gonna hurl…" muttered Yugo.

"Ooh…" Said Yuya and Yuto simultaneously.

"That… was a cheap shot…" Muttered Yuri as he slowly got up, Reira suddenly took the flat end of his blade and smacked the orb into the air, he then zoomed up to it and hit it further up until it landed on the top of the building that he had jumped off of.

"Good job…" Said Reiji, patting his head, Reira smiled a bit.

"Urgh… oh god, it's all covered in… oh… oh god…" Said Sawatari, nearly losing his lunch as he looked at the particularly slimy substance covering the shining object.

"Suck it up and go," Said Reiji, grabbing a glowing light-blue card, "Come forth, D/D/D Wave King Caesar!" He yelled, his red scarf flailing wildly behind him.

He reappeared as a large creature… something humanoid but at the same time, not, he was clad in purple and silver armor and held a large greatsword in one hand, he was covered in an aquatic aura and gave off a kingly appearance.

Reiji raised one of his hands and shot out a large stream of water at the orb, washing off most of the saliva, "Take this to the podium, I'll make sure nobody follows…" Reiji said. Sawatari grinned.

"Birdy over here can take the kid and go, I'm gonna stick with you," Said Sawatari, "there's no way you can stop all of them, and besides… I wanna show that Yuya kid something as well…" He said, grinning.

"...very well then, let's go!" Reiji said, jumping from the building and into the crowd of monsters below him, Sawatari grinned, "Alright then! Woohoo!" He yelled as he jumped from the building, grasping an orange card, "Come on out! Mobius the Mega Monarch!" He yelled, changing into a large, white behemoth and descending on the crowd.

"They're gonna get away with the orb!" Yelled Yuya, his brothers quickly attempted to fly after the large, mechanical bird that flew away with the orb but was stopped when Reiji swung his sword and sent a large wave of water at them, knocking all of them, including the other duelists, to the ground. If that wasn't already enough, Sawatari had crashed into all of them with his hulking body as Mobius.

The other duelists were knocked out by the wave and the impact Mobius had made, luckily, Yuya and his brothers managed to take minimal damage from it.

"Damn it… they're gonna get away!" Yelled Yugo, Yuri groaned, "oh god, my stomach still hurts…" he groaned.

Yuya gritted his teeth, this wasn't good at all.

"You guys! Go after Kurosaki, I'll handle things over here!" He yelled, "Are you crazy!? You can't handle these guys alone!" Yelled Yuto, but he knew that Yuya had a point, "Yugo, Yuri, you go after them, Yuya and I will handle these guys!" He yelled, two people would fight the two left behind, while the other two would go after the two who ran, that and Yugo was the fastest flier out of all of them.

"Got it, good luck you two!" Yelled Yugo, Yuri sucked in his pain through sheer willpower, "I'm gonna destroy whoever that sword was…" Muttered Yuri as he and Yugo took off, Yuya and Yuto charged at the two who were attacking them.

Yuya rammed into Reiji, and Yuto rammed his head into Sawatari, sparks seemed to fly as they clashed together.

* * *

"Get back here!" Yelled Yugo as he flew after them, Kurosaki gritted his teeth, "hold on, kid!" He yelled. Reira held onto his neck with a tighter grip as he said so.

"**Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" **Yelled Yugo, green wind swirling around him as he charged at the other duelist, Shun turned around to face him, "**Brave Claw Revolution!" **He yelled, covered in flames as they collided together.

Reira stared at the white dragon that Shun was fighting before his attention was grabbed by another voice. "Oi, kid!" Yelled Yuri from below them, roots and vines stretched out from behind him, green balls of energy were crackling among them.

"Take this!" He yelled, firing at the figures above him, Yugo and Shun stopped their clash in order to dodge. "Whoa! Yuri, watch your aim!" Yelled Yugo, Shun growled when he looked at the purple dragon below them.

"...go after the Fusion Dragon…" muttered Reira, "Huh?" Said Kurosaki, "...I'll handle the Synchro dragon… go…" he muttered, without giving him a chance to answer, he jumped off of him as he transformed into C/C Critical Eye.

He stared at the dragon with his single, red eye, "Monster sighted… type is… Synchro Monster…" He muttered, he began to glow and transform again with white light. "C/C/C Rock Blaster of Battle!" He yelled, changing shape into what looked like a gun made of earth, and something like a sideways crossbow.

"What the…!" Yugo exclaimed, "Locked on… FIRE!" Yelled Reira, shooting a large, orange laser at the dragon, Yugo gathered energy in his mouth, green light sparkling in his mouth like lightning. "Take this! **Dichroic BEAM!" **Yelled Yugo, firing a large stream of green energy in response to Reira's attack.

The beams clashed together with a bright flash of green and orange.

Meanwhile, Shun began to glow, "I always did wanna kick your ass!" He yelled as he flew into the sky, surrounded with a red glow, "Rank Up! Descend, Raidraptors - Blaze Falcon!" He yelled, suddenly flashing and emerging as a red bird this time.

"Out of the way! I have a child to discipline!" Yelled Yuri, firing lasers at the bird, Kurosaki tightened his grip on the orb in his claw, "Bring it!" He yelled, firing lasers back at the purple dragon to meet him.

* * *

Yuya and Yuto were panting, their backs literally and figuratively against the wall. "Damn… We don't have enough power to topple the Monarch guy, and the other guy can use Fusion, Synchro, AND Xyz monsters…" He groaned, "Isn't that like… really rare?" Yuya asked, his breathing just as labored.

"I think I've gotta break out the thing…" Yuto muttered, "You sure it'll work though?" Yuya asked.

Yuto shrugged, "No clue, but it's now or never…" He said, purple electricity sparking at his wings, "Can you keep on fighting the D/D/D-whatever that means-guy?" He asked. Yuya grinned, "Of course…!" Yuya responded.

"It stands for Different Dimension Demon…" Said Reiji, who was currently transformed into a Synchro monster dubbed, D/D/D Gust King Alexander, "Doesn't matter!" Yelled Yuto, spreading his wings, "I hope this works…!" He yelled, suddenly the electricity on his wings flew towards Sawatari, wrapping around him like a rope.

"Come on… Treason Discharge!" He yelled, the electricity, acting like ropes, tightened around Sawatari, "W-What the…!" He yelled, nearly falling over.

The purple orbs on Yuto's body began to glow, "this move will bind you and halve your power…" Yuto said, hiding the excitement in his mind as he realized that it _actually worked_. "That power is transferred to me! And I can use it twice in a row!" He yelled.

"Wait… you can use it twice in a row?" Asked Yuya, Yuto suddenly realized he was bluffing, "Welp… guess we'll find out…! Treason Discharge!" He yelled, shooting the lighting towards Reiji, he attempted to dodge but was at the end caught and bound.

"Tch…!" He grunted, struggling in his binds.

"_HolyshitIactuallymanagedtodoittwiceinarow!" _Yuto thought rapidly, he kept his poker face on, "Do it now, Yuya!" He yelled, electricity sparkling around the fang on his chin.

"**Spiral Flame Strike!"**

"**Lightning of Rebellion, DISOBEY!"**

Yuya sent a large stream of fire at the Different Dimension Demon, and Yuto charged and ran through the giant monarch with an electricity filled fang, Reiji struggled to stand his ground against the flames, and Sawatari was sent flying through a building.

The smoke finally cleared, Reiji was on his knees, his transformation had come undone, Yuto slowly set back down on the ground next to Yuya.

"Alright… we did it!" Yelled Yuya, Yuto couldn't help but grin.

Suddenly, Reiji began to laugh.

"Huh…?" Said Yuya, turning to face him, "What's so funny?" He asked. Reiji continued to laugh. "Impressive! Very impressive, Yuya Sakaki!" He yelled, standing straight up, "Pendulum Monsters… they truly are powerful!" He yelled.

"Umm… thanks?" Yuya said, tilting his head in confusion, Reiji began to calm down, his laugh dying out, he adjusted his glasses as he began to glow with alternating green and red light.

"Huh?" Yuya said, stepping backward as he began to glow, "Please understand, just like how I admire your father, Yusho Sakaki… you are the first user of this monster type that you have dubbed… Pendulum…" He said, "As such, I truly admire both you and your father…" He said, adjusting his glasses again.

His glow began to brighten, he was grinning as more power accumulated inside him, "That's exactly why… I found a way to have that power as well!" He yelled, a pillar of blue light suddenly burst from underneath him, the sky seemed to glow with the same color, a red and green card appeared in front of him.

Their eyes widened, the audience that watched from afar watched in awe as well, Yuto shook his head to snap out of it, "Crap-Yuya, attack him, quickly!" He yelled, gathering purple lightning up in his mouth, Yuya snapped out of it as well, "R-Right! **Spiral Flame Strike!"** He yelled, shooting flames at him, Yuto did the same by firing lightning from his mouth.

The attacks seemed to stop right in front of him, as though it had collided with an invisible wall instead.

"Crap… what's happening…!" Yuto yelled, suddenly another burst of light came from the building he had knocked Sawatari into, he glowed with similar light, though admittedly less brilliant, and a red and green card floated in front of him as well.

"Oh no…" Yuto muttered.

"_Grand power that shakes my very soul… Arise within me, and become a new light that rends the darkness!" _He yelled, two transparent pillars rising beside him, two other red and green cards appearing in each, the same happened to Sawatari.

"_Come before me! Three transcendental Deities that rule over all kings. __**D/D/D Great Death Lord -Hell Armageddon!" **_

He crushed the card in his hand, his scarf flailing wildly behind him as the light surrounded him, Sawatari did the same with his own card, and the cards in the pillars next to them shattered, "_Oh wind-clad chief of phantoms! With your raging cloak, gouge those lands! Come forth, Mayosenju Daibakaze!" _He yelled, surrounded in a mix of light and blue smoke.

The light finally dissipated, and in its place were three large… creatures? Demons? They had no arms or legs, but they had a face and a transparent bottom, almost making them look like a special kind of gem, inside them shone a deep purple core, and their eyes shone a sinister red.

Above them was now a large beast that looked like it was made of a sinister blue cloud, surrounded by strong winds, next to him were what looked like parts of a gate, "As well as Yosenju Shinchu R and L!" He said, revealing their names.

"They… have pendulum monsters…" Yuya muttered, "Servant Spirits as well… and Reiji has three of those… things…!" He said, his knees shook a bit.

"Calm down, Yuya!" Yelled Yuto, "bring out Timegazer and Stargazer! We can still do this!" He yelled, Yuya gulped and did as he said, "Timegazer Magician! Stargazer Magician!" He yelled as the two magicians appeared next to him.

_Meanwhile…_

Something shot through all of the contestants as Timegazer and Stargazer appeared, they felt something, something sinister, and something pure, the clouds in the sky darkened.

Soul and Jonouchi suddenly jumped away from each other, "What the… what is this power?" Muttered Jonouchi, "What kinda fight is happening right now?" He said out loud.

"Soul… what's happening…" Syrup muttered. Soul grunted, "hell if I know… I'm just glad it's nowhere near us…" He said.

Somewhere else, Gongenzaka and Sora, who were still looking for an orb, stopped in their tracks.

"Ooh… looks like somebody's having fun out there…" Said Sora nonchalantly, Gongenzaka gritted his teeth, "I have a bad feeling about this…" He muttered.

The girls, who were still flying towards the podium that would bring them their victory stopped and turned, "What the heck is that!?" Yelled Serena, Yuzu began to recall their first day of school.

"_Get away… I WILL PROTECT YUZU!"_

"Yuya…" She said, a feeling of worry forming in her mind.

_Meanwhile..._

Atem stood up suddenly as he felt it, heck even Yugi (who was sleeping somewhere now) nearly woke up from his mini-coma.

He couldn't help but grin, "interesting…" he muttered before sitting back down.

"How _interesting…_" Said the man who stood next to where Headmaster Leo should be, apparently his name "The Doctor", "I'd love to dissect them and find out what that power is…" He said, giggling creepily.

Roger scooted an inch further away from him, Atem's hand twitched for the button that activated the Duel Disk on his arm.

The Doctor turned to them and grinned, "_Kid-ding!" _He said cheerfully, his instincts told him nothing good about the men beside him, but he could have sworn he heard the sound of the seat Roger was in move another inch away from him.

_Elsewhere…_

Yugo and Yuri turned around suddenly, "What the heck is that?" They both said.

Kurosaki took this chance and reverted to a faster flier, Rise Falcon, he quickly grabbed Reira from the sky (gun form and all) and fired up his boosters.

"Come on… full speed!" He yelled, bursting forward at an incredible speed. "H-Hey! Get back here!" Yelled Yugo, "come on Yuri!" He yelled, Yuri reverted back to his human form and grabbed onto Yugo's back, "Hold on! I'm going full speed ahead!" He yelled as they flew off in pursuit of the Raidraptor.

* * *

"Relax, Yuya!" Yuto yelled. Yuya nodded at him, except Yuto could tell he was panicking. "We can do this Yuya!" He yelled, electricity sparking in his wings again, he couldn't feel enough energy in order to use Treason Discharge again, but he could still fight.

He looked up at the bluish-green monster in the sky above him, "_I'm a better flier than Yuya…" _He thought, "Yuya, I'll take Cloudy up there, can you handle Mr. Big and Creepy?" He asked, referring to Sawatari as "Cloudy" and Reiji's new form as "Mr. Big and Creepy".

Yuya gulped, "Y-Yeah…" He said, he shook his head and steeled his resolve, "_Calm down… who cares if he can use Pendulums too… apparently…" _He thought, "_I can still take him…" _He thought.

"Let's do this, Yuto!" He yelled, Yuto flew into the sky, crackling with electricity, Yuya charged at Reiji with his magicians beside him.

"The middle one is Reiji… I'll just take him out first…!" Yuya said, "**Spiral Flame Strike!" **He yelled, shooting flames at the menacing monsters, "Weak!" Yelled Reiji, the core at his center began to glow, before firing multiple lasers at the coming flames.

The attacks clashed, "This is nothing! **Reaction Force!" **He yelled, the flames grew bigger and began to push back the beams.

"An impressive ability… however!" Reiji said, suddenly, the other two Hell Armageddons fired their own beams of energy, joining with the original, the flames began to be pushed back ever so slightly.

"Damn it… Not yet…!" He yelled, his eyes shone, as did the orbs adorning his body, "I'm not done!" He yelled as the flames grew even stronger, pushing back the beams and striking Reiji, causing a large explosion.

"Reiji!" Yelled Sawatari, before he was suddenly struck by an electricity filled fang, courtesy of Yuto. "You have bigger problems! Take this!" He yelled, Sawatari quickly turned and clashed with the black dragon.

Yuya panted hard, his chest rising and falling, the extra power had come from his willpower and efforts, as well as a boost of power from Stargazer and Timegazer.

"Did we… get him?" He asked he turned his eyes towards the clearing smoke.

"Unfortunately for you… no…" Said the voice of Reiji.

Yuya's eyes widened in fear.

The area where the Hell Armageddon he just defeated was now filled with a black silhouette of it, from that shadow, dark and sinister energy poured into the cores of the other two, their eyes shone an even brighter red.

"W-What?" Yuya stammered, "But that's…" He muttered, unable to comprehend what was happening. He was quickly cut off by Reiji, "The servant spirits that come with being a user of Pendulum…" He said, "to call them Servant Spirits is only slightly accurate, you see, Servant Spirits are monsters that we CANNOT transform into…" He said, explaining.

"However, it seems that these spirits… are different…" He said, turning to face the Armageddon next to him, and also revealing him to now be the Armageddon on the right. "Taking into consideration the name you've given these monsters… I'd call them… Pendulum Spirits…" He said.

"Pendulum Spirits… what's that mean!?" Yuya yelled, Reiji laughed, "It means that these spirits can be transformed into!" He said, "I switched with one of my spirits at the last moment, and when one of the Spirit Armageddons is destroyed, their power is taken by the rest!" He yelled, laughing out loud.

"Try it! Try to transform into one of your magicians, your dragon will take their place as a Spirit and you will become that monster!" He yelled.

"Is that… true?" He said, looking towards Stargazer Magician, the magician stared back down at him, as if telling him to find out for himself.

Yuya closed his eyes and reached into the depths of himself, at least, that's one way to describe it.

He searched for the feeling he felt whenever he called forth Timegazer and Stargazer and found it.

He reached out to it, but instead of using it to bring them next to him, he did what he did with Odd-Eyes instead.

He felt something change.

He opened his eyes, he looked around.

He now stood (floated?) where Stargazer was, he WAS Stargazer.

He looked to his left and saw Timegazer, he opened and closed his hands, he looked below him and saw Odd-Eyes standing there.

The dragon let out a loud roar and glared at the two Armageddons, if Reiji's face in that form could move (God knows where ever his voice was coming from…), he'd be grinning.

When a pendulum monster is in the form of a spirit, their power is noticeably less than when their user is transformed into them," He explained, "Meaning that in that form, Stargazer is stronger now, but Odd-Eyes is weakened, and vice versa, and with everything else…" He said.

Yuya shifted back into Odd-Eyes, more confident in that form when it came to a competition of power, "why are you telling me this…" He said, again, if Reiji could grin, that's what he'd be doing. "Call it good sportsmanship… now… It's time I end this…" He said. Both he and his spirit glowed with dark energy.

"Crap… if his power has been increased, my attack won't do anything…!" He muttered, he looked around, there was no place to take cover either.

"Guess I've just gotta do it…!" He said, gathering the last of his energy into a final attack, Timegazer and Stargazer glowed as they transferred more energy to the dragon below them.

"This is the end! **Hellish Rain!" **He yelled, firing a rain of energy towards him, Yuya fired his own flames, "**Spiral Flame Strike!" **He yelled as his attack went to meet the attack.

His flames were blasted through easily.

Yuya could only gasp as he saw the attack close in on him.

"Yuya!"

A loud explosion echoed through the battlefield.

* * *

Yuzu turned to where the explosion came from, she couldn't keep it in anymore, her bad feeling just got worse.

"You guys go on without me! I need to go check something out!" She yelled, jumping from Rin and transforming into Mozarta. "Wha-Yuzu!" Yelled Rin, "I'm sorry! It's just a feeling, okay?" She yelled back as she flew in the direction of the explosion, "Get that orb to the goal!" She yelled as she flew off.

"Yuya…" She muttered, flying forward at the fastest speed she could muster.

* * *

T he smoke cleared, Reiji remained vigilant as he searched the area.

"Damn it… where'd that guy run off to!?" Yelled Sawatari as he flew up next to him, "What do you mean?" Reiji asked, "The guy suddenly bailed as soon as you made that attack…" He said.

"...Sawatari, could you use your wind and get rid of the smoke already?" He asked, "Oh! That's right I can do that…" He said, his eyes shined yellow for a moment, and a strong gust of wind blew the smoke away from them.

"W-Wha!?" Sawatari exclaimed.

Three figures laid on the ground, Timegazer, Stargazer, and Dark Rebellion.

Yuya struggled to stand up.

"Yuto… are you… okay?" He asked, the dragon coughed and grinned, "oh yeah, fine and dandy, gimme a moment and I'll just walk off my probably-broken ribs-OW!" He yelped in pain, "Yuto!" Yuya yelled, quickly running to his side, Timegazer and Stargazer slowly faded into light, out of strength and unable to stick around for a while.

"I'm fine… I'm fine…" He groaned, "you mind if I pass out? I think I'm about to pass out…" He said, his body glowing a dark blue.

At the moment when Yuya's attack failed to fight against the attack coming towards him, Yuto had abandoned his own fight and dashed in front of him, placing his wings up in front of him as a position of defense. Stargazer and Timegazer had also jumped in, putting up a barrier in front of them.

The result was the three of them out of commission, and Yuya barely standing.

"Damn it Yuto… I told you to stop worrying about me…" He said. Yuto chuckled, "kinda hard NOT to worry when you're in a situation like that!" He said cheerfully before coughing again.

"Yuya…" Yuto said, suddenly getting deadly serious, "We'll probably need to run… but let's be honest… we're probably not gonna get far…" He said, raising an arm and grabbing his.

At that moment, unbeknownst to them, something moved from Yuto and into Yuya.

"So… I guess all I can say it…" He said, gripping his arm, "You… got this… and good luck…" He said, before passing out, reverting to his human form.

"Yuto…" Yuya muttered, he slowly picked up Yuto in his arms and propped him up against a wall.

He turned to face the monsters that floated up in the sky, he took a deep breath.

And slowly breathed out.

"COME ON!" He yelled, his gems glowing again, "THE FUN IS JUST GETTING STARTED!" He yelled, at this point just yelling whatever in order to hype himself up.

Suddenly, he felt power rise from within him, electricity sparked at his horns.

"Bring it on!" He yelled, suddenly bursting with power, purple electricity suddenly sparkled from all around him.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHI!" He yelled, his eyes shining with a blinding light, he charged at the giant beast that was Sawatari, he crashed into him, electricity flowed from him and into Sawatari, causing him to let out loud yells as the electricity coursed through him.

"WHOOOOOOOOOOAAAA!" He yelled, suddenly breathing a large burst of fire mixed with the purple electricity at Sawatari, blasting him back into a building, knocking him out cold.

"What… is this!?" Yelled Reiji, instinctively backing away, Yuya's form hadn't changed, he was just suddenly filled with different power, no… his brother's power!

Meanwhile, inside Yuya's mind…

There was a bright light, illuminating seemingly endless darkness, it glowed both blue and green, Yuya could feel immense power emanating from it.

He reached out his arm and grasped it.

Suddenly, it burst violently with electricity, Yuya nearly let go again, it seemed to fight against him.

No… it wasn't fighting him, he just couldn't handle it.

"Damn it… no! I need this power! Come on…!" He yelled, trying to tighten his grip.

Suddenly, a large explosion of electricity came from the energy in his hand, blasting him back.

* * *

"What the heck…" Muttered Yugo, staring at the city, "Is that… Yuto?" He asked, "I don't know…" Muttered Yuri, "I've never seen him pull off that kind of power before…" He said.

They stared at the city, it seemed to be exploding with purple electricity.

"_What is this power…" _Reiji thought as he struggled to keep up a barrier against the explosion of energy in front of him, "_He didn't have this kind of power before…" _He said.

The dragon had suddenly roared in what sounded a little like pain, and suddenly the energy had exploded out of control, he was yelling, roaring, it was as if he couldn't control the power he was handling.

"What kind of energy is this…" Reiji grunted, he allowed his last spirit to be destroyed so it's power could be added to his, and he focused on identifying the energy Yuya was exploding with.

He could feel it, it felt like the same energy from Pendulum monsters, but there was something else.

He recognized it almost immediately.

"Xyz Energy!?" He yelled, "Did his brother transfer him this power before he passed out!?" He grunted.

"_No… he didn't have this much energy left…" _He thought, "_But there's no other way for him to have this power… Yuto must have unconsciously given him some power… but somehow it's been magnified… is it the Pendulum Energy…?" _He thought.

As if somebody had just flicked on a lightbulb, he had a breakthrough.

"_...I get it!" _He thought, "Pendulum isn't complete yet! He's on the verge of unlocking its true potential!" He yelled. He couldn't help but grin.

Unfortunately, it seemed he wasn't ready, although it seemed he was completely missing the body of his unconscious brother, likely due to his instincts to not attack him.

"This is too dangerous… forgive me Sakaki, but I must end this now!" He yelled, gathering up energy in his core, "**Armageddon Cannon!" **He yelled, firing a concentrated beam of energy at the dragon.

It struck the dragon square in the chest, the electricity faded immediately.

Yuya began to fall back to the ground, colliding with a great crash, he began to glow again as he reverted back to his human form, completely unconscious.

Reiji gasped for air, it had taken a considerable amount of energy defending against that storm of energy.

"Well… at least that's over…" He muttered, Suddenly, he felt a series of lasers strike him from above.

"Guess who's back!" Yelled Yugo, Yuri behind him with more lasers ready to fire.

Reiji couldn't help but let out a really long sigh.

"That energy came from Yuya… dunno what happened, but seems like it's up to us to kick your ass!" Yelled Yugo, Yuri cracked his knuckles, "For hurting Yuya, I hope you're ready to take the punishment of the Death Sentence…" Yuri said menacingly.

Reiji gathered up energy in his core again, ready to fight some more.

"_Team Lancers, PASSED"_

Suddenly, Reiji glowed, as did Sawatari, who was just coming back into consciousness.

"Well… it seems that we will have to save our next fight for another day…" Said Reiji, grinning at them. "Oi! Don't you dare run from us!" Yelled Yugo, Yuri glared at him, "I'm going to kill you in your sleep…" he said menacingly.

Suddenly, they glowed and were teleported away from them.

"Tch… Kurosaki must've finally gotten the orb back to the goal…" Said Yuri, "Damn guy was too fast! How the heck does he fly that fast!" Yelled Yugo, "You guys were saved by the bell! That's all!" He yelled angrily.

"We have bigger problems, Yugo…" Said Yuri, smacking him with his tail. "Oh, right!" Yugo exclaimed, flying towards the ground, Yuri sighed and followed him.

"You guys said you'd handle it…" Yugo muttered as he reverted back to his human form and picked up Yuya, Yuri shook Yuto awake, he groaned as he opened his eyes, "Go away, I'm tired…" He muttered, "Good to know that you're alive…" Yuri muttered.

"What are you guys… doing back here…? Muttered Yuya as Yugo helped him up, Yugo sighed, "Kurosaki suddenly got really fast all of a sudden, and I had just been fighting and couldn't keep up…" He said, "But enough of that, what the heck happened here?" He asked.

Yuya racked his brain for an answer but came up empty. "I dunno… I suddenly felt really powerful… but then…" He said as he rubbed his aching head, "I… I don't remember what happened next…" He said, unable to recall what happened afterward.

"Damn though…" Yugo said, looking at their injuries, "You guys got beaten up…" He said. Yuto's face flushed, "W-Well you should have seen the other guy!" He said, "He got knocked into a building!" He said.

"Enough about that…" Yuri said, "What are we gonna do about an orb now?" He asked.

* * *

"Stop…" Said the voice of a short, orange-haired girl.

"Hmm?" Said a small-eyed boy with orange hair with red highlights, "What is it, Mieru?" He asked, "You getting a prediction?" He asked.

"Yes, Michio..." She said, her eyes closed as she focused on a blue crystal apple in her hand, another male walked up beside Michio, he wore a fisherman's outfit and even carried around a fishing rod. "You don't actually believe this chick's hocus pocus, do you Michio?" He asked.

Michio nodded, "Surprisingly enough, her predictions tend to come true…" He said, "trust her, Teppei…" He said. The man-Teppei sighed, "Okay, I'll bite…" He said, "What do you see in that crystal apple of yours…" He said.

"I can see it… I can see it…!" She said, opening her eyes wide.

"Well?" Michio said, "What do you see?" He asked.

"…Be on your guard…" She said, "Powerful opponents will reveal themselves before us soon…" She said, Michio stared at Teppei, Teppei looked down at the white orb in his hands.

"…I mean, she might not be wrong…" Teppei said, clutching the orb tighter.

"Any other details?" Michio asked. Mieru nodded at him, "Yes… a team of four, each of them with ferocious power…" She said, staring further into the apple, "One of them has incredible potential, and will be the greatest threat to us…" She said, "He is also my fated o-" She began to say, before stopping suddenly, her face turning red.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Michio asked, Mieru shook her head rapidly, her face red. "No… I must need to work on my divination a bit more…" She said, "Nothing! That's all!" She said, walking past him.

"…Hm… powerful opponents, huh?" Michio said, staring into the sky, he suddenly gave a wide smile, an almost malicious smile, "Interesting…" He said, Teppei stared at him, "Oh boy…" He groaned.

**And with that, this chapter comes to an end!**

**I swear, I thought this chapter was NOWHERE close to being done, until I pressed ctrl+shift+c, and found out I had written 7000+ words, and I thought, "I've already written this much…?"**

**Also, an important announcement! *Queue the drumroll…***

**Welcome… my assistant-that-I-happen-to-know-in-real-life-and-found-out-who-I-was-on-this-website!**

**Otherwise known as my new editor.**

**Say hello!**

**MelodiousYuzu588: Hello!**

**We met in real life, and she happened to see me typing and found out who I was, turns out she enjoyed my fics! Small world, huh!**

**MelodiousYuzu588: I asked him if he wanted an editor to review his work before he published, he said yes, and now my job is to just catch things like plot-holes and tell him when something is either "good" or "could use some work"**

**When we considered the fact that my name was OddEyes588, and that we're both obsessed with Fruitshipping, she decided to name her account after who we both ship Yuya with.**

**MelodiousYuzu588: I don't even main Melodious lol, it's a secondary main, but I main Clear Wing Speedroids**

**MelodiousYuzu588: Btw, if you are reading from Archive of Our Own, I'm still waiting on my account, so bear with us!**

**Anyways, we hope that you continue to enjoy reading this story!**

**MelodiousYuzu588: Peace!**


	8. Chapter 8: Light in the Dragon's Eye

**(To shorten our conversations at the beginning and end of these chapters, we're shortening our names to OddEyes and Melodious)**

**Melodious: What I really love about Fruitshipping is that, even if Yuya and Yuzu were to not end up in a romantic relationship (Though I both hope and believe that's what would happen), their relationship still works, and it's adorable and I love it, at least that's one way to word it. I'm sure there is a better way to word it somehow.**

**OddEyes: I just think that they're perfect for each other, there's some more reasoning to how I feel about it, but I'm not gonna go into all of them.**

**Chapter 8: Light in the Dragon's Eye**

"So did we bring any first aid supplies?" Asked Yugo.

"Nope, we don't even have a first-aid kit…" Yuri said, "Although there's something I've been working on… but it'd only work if there was already somebody who could just glow or something and heal people nearby…" He said. Yugo sighed, "this sure went to shit real quick…" He muttered.

"Relax! We can still fi-OW!" Yelled Yuya as he tried to stand up, only to collapse again, clutching his side, Yuto couldn't help but laugh at him, only to wince in pain as his body shook.

"Right… yeah, we don't think so…" Said Yuri, Yuya and Yuto groaned, "We'll walk it off… we need to hurry and make up for lost time…" Yuto said, forcing himself to stand despite Yuri's groaning.

"It's gonna be a lot harder if Fusion and I are gonna be carrying you two the entire way." Yuri said, "It's not FUSION! It's YUGO, I KNOW YOU'RE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE YOU ASSHO-" Yugo began to yell before Yuri suddenly placed a hand over his mouth, silencing him. "Shhh! You dolt!" He said, looking at the sky, "Someone's coming…" He said.

Yugo quieted down, they all looked up and saw a figure flying towards them, Yuri readied himself to transform again.

"Hey, wait!" Yuya said. Yuri looked back at him, "Huh? Why?" He said, "They could be attacking, I should fly over there and kick their ass before they get here!" He said, "Look closer!" He said, pointing at the figure.

Yuri decided to do as Yuya said and looked back at the figure, he squinted his eyes.

"…Who?" Yuri asked, "It's Yuzu! Come on you've seen her monster before!" Yuya said, Yuri looked back again, the monster was definitely feminine…

"…I'm still gonna shoot her down…" Yuri said, "WHAT!? Why!?" Yuya yelled, "Because it's obviously a trap that Serena thought up of in order to catch us off guard…" He said, "Yeah, she'd definitely convince one of her sisters to try and meet up with us, make us lower our guard, then steal our orb while laughing at us, MOCKING us…" He said.

"…And how do you know that?" Yugo asked, Yuri grinned, "Because I'd do the same thing…" He said with a particularly malicious grin.

"Come on, they wouldn't do that!" Yuya said, "We're all friends!" He said, ignoring Yugo's remarks of "Rin would simply because I'm here…" and "Not so sure about Rin…".

"We don't have an orb anyways, so they can't really steal one from us anyways!" Yuya said. Yuri gave a great sigh, before giving up. "Fine, but if they're the reason why we lose, I'm entitled to multiple I-told-you-so's," He said.

* * *

"You know if I didn't have to hold back…" Said Jonouchi from underneath the giant arm that pinned him, "I could definitely kick your ass…" He grumbled as Syrup pried the orb from his claw. "Hmm, probably, yeah…" Soul said, transformed into an even larger, deep crimson dragon. "Though even then you'd have a problem against Armed Dragon LV10…" He said as he pointed at himself.

"Really inconvenient though…" Syrup grunted as the orb shrunk down to the size of a soccer ball in her arms, "Why can't you just use your actual strength?" She asked.

Soul sighed, "Because that means I actually have to wake up and get something done…" He groaned, "I like being tired you know, it's really relaxing, and it makes falling asleep easier…" He said. Syrup sighed.

"Wait… you were holding back too?" Jonouchi asked. Soul shrugged, "I mean, I guess… Armed Dragon is nothing to be scoffed at, but yeah, I have better options…" He said, "I just like Armed Dragon because I can just sleep and I'll naturally get stronger and level up…" He said.

Jonouchi sighed, "Whatever… go on then…" He said, "You beat me, get going…" He said, reverting from Red Eyes to his regular form. "Kay…" Soul muttered, also transforming back.

"Right… I guess I'll hold onto this…" Soul muttered, taking the orb from Syrup's hands, "But let it forever be known that I had to carry you to this victory…" He said before falling on his back and passing out, the orb, however, clenched tightly in his hands.

Syrup puffed her cheeks, "Oh shut up! I'll get stronger! Just you watch!" She yelled, though he didn't hear her, Syrup grasped a white card in her hand and transformed, "Come! Naturia Beast!" She said, transforming into the green tiger-like monster.

Her body glowed for a bit, and suddenly a plant-root came up from the ground and picked up Soul, placing him gently on her back, the plant-life that already grew on her sprouted vines and wrapped themselves around her and Soul, making sure he wouldn't fall off.

"Right! Let's go!" She yelled, taking off and running into the forest nearby.

* * *

"Yuya!" Yelled Yuzu, landing on the ground and reverting back to her regular form, she ran over to him, a look of worry on her face. Yuya smiled nervously, "Hey Yuzu, how are you?" He said nervously.

"How am I!?" She said, looking at his wounds, "How are y-how did you end up like this!?" She said, Yuya scratched the back of his head, "It's… a long story…" He said. Yuzu frowned at him. "This is the third time you've been injured like this!" She said. Yuya chuckled, "At least I'm getting used to it, am I right?" He asked. Yuzu frowned at him again, "You're not supposed to be USED to it…" She said.

"And I also exist…" Muttered Yuto, "Oh, you okay?" Yuzu asked calmly.

"Physically, though you may not believe me, yeah…" He said, "Mentally however, after that response, I'm not entirely sure." He said teasingly, "S-Sorry!" Yuzu said, only now realizing how uninterested she sounded when she looked at Yuto's injuries.

"Hold on… I have a first-aid kit on me…" She said, taking out a red pouch with a white cross on it from her bag.

"Seems that unlike us, you girls actually remembered to bring the essentials…" Yuri said, eyeing Yugo. "Hey! Anybody could have forgotten them!" He yelled, "Yes, but you forgot the essentials, but remembered to bring _snacks,_" He said.

"You should always bring snacks no matter where you go, okay?" Yugo said defensively, "Well look how much those are helping now!" Yuri argued back.

"Stop bickering, or you're paying for your lunch for a week…" Yuto groaned, his brothers immediately shut up, though Yuri grumbled something about how he was abusing his privileges as the one who cooked everything. "What was that?" Yuto asked, raising an eyebrow knowingly, "…nothing…" He muttered, looking even more pissed off than usual.

"By the way, where's your team Yuzu?" Yuya asked as she wrapped him in bandages, "We got an orb early in, so they're already heading back," She said, "I'll probably end up leaving soon…" She said as she worked.

Yuya raised an eyebrow, "Should you have really just left them?" He asked. Yuzu smacked him lightly, "Hey, you want help or not?" She asked. Yuya grinned at her, "Touche" he said.

"That's great and all, but just apply the bare minimum," Yuri said, "We need to get out there and start searching for an orb, and I'm willing to bet that we're gonna have to fight for it." He said, "Yeah yeah…" Yuzu said, "Yuya, _hold still…!" _She said as she finished wrapping him up.

"Right then, do Yuto next and we'll be off…" Yuri said as he helped Yuya to his feet, "Right, I'm on it…" She said, beginning to walk over to him.

Then, she started glowing.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Umm, HERE!" Yuzu yelled in a panic, she quickly tossed the first-aid kit to the ground near Yuto, "Sorry! Good luck!" She said as she vanished into thin air.

A gust of wind blew past them.

"...Anybody know how to use this?" Yugo asked. The boys looked around nervously.

* * *

"What… the hell…!?" Groaned a defeated duelist, who laid limp on the ground. "What… is this power…!?" He said before passing out.

Around him laid a countless number of other duelists, defeated just like him, and in the middle of it all was a dragon that glowed with mysterious blue energy, with eyes that shone with the brilliance of all of the stars in the galaxy.

A flash of light-blue covered the battlefield, and in its place was a young man with blonde and blue hair, he held a glowing white orb under his arm.

"Weaklings, all of them…" He muttered as he walked away, leaving the torn battlefield behind. "Comrades would have only held me back, I made the right choice…" He said coldly.

* * *

"There's four of us and only two of them! Get them!" Yelled a duelist, transforming as he charged at their opponents, his teammates did the same.

"Do what you want… but I will not move from this spot!" Yelled Gongenzaka as he crushed an orange card in his hand. "With your unmovable spirit, descend on this battlefield!" He yelled as he transformed, "Superheavy Samurai, BIG BENKEI!" He yelled, reappearing as the giant, mechanical samurai.

He braced himself as he was hit head-on with the full force of each of their tackles, the earth rumbled with their collision.

His feet remained planted exactly where they started.

"Now! Sora!" He yelled. As he said this, the blue-haired boy appeared above him, "Kaaaaaay~!" He said cheerfully as he clapped his hands together on a purple card. "Appear! The horrifying beast that shreds everything! FRIGHTFUR BEAR!" He yelled as he transformed into a pink stuffed bear, suddenly, blades pierced it from inside, creating a beast that looked like it had just come out of a horror movie.

"Take this!" He yelled, raising an elongated bear-arm and basically swiping all of their opponents away.

"Let's finish them!" Yelled Gongenzaka, Sora nodded as he reverted back to normal, with another purple card in front of him.

"Take this!" Yelled Gongenzaka, crashing his large fist into the ground, a wave of energy came from it and went towards the enemy, Sora grinned and grasped the purple card in his hand. "Show yourself! King of the hundred beasts that tear everything to pieces! FRIGHTFUR LEO!" He yelled, transforming into a yellow stuffed lion. Before he had a similar treatment to what Frightfur Bear had.

"Take this! **WHEELSAW MASSACRE!" **He yelled, a series of wheel saws spinning inside the torn up face of the monster he was using, the wheelsaws glowed a bright yellow, and shot off multiple similar blades of energy at their opponents.

The team of four were all blown back and defeated in an instant, reverting back to their normal forms.

"Aww, that's it?" Sora asked as he changed back as well, walking over to them. He poked one of them with a stick.

"...Yup, they're out," He said, "Bummer… I thought they'd be more of a challenge…" He said with a look of disappointment on his face. "Do they have an orb?" Gongenzaka asked as he walked up beside him, Sora looked around.

"Ah!" He exclaimed, bending down and picking up a glowing sphere, "Well whaddya know! They may be weak, but they were useful for something at least!" He said cheerily. Gongenzaka frowned, "No need to mock our opponents…" He said, "Yeah yeah…" Sora said casually, Gongenzaka sighed.

* * *

"…Why am I getting the feeling that we're really behind…?" Yuya asked as he-transformed into Odd-Eyes-ran across a large plain, Yuri-transformed into Starving Venom-flying alongside him while Yugo flew high, high above them.

"That's probably because we are…" Yuri said, suppressing the urge to groan loudly.

"Come on guys, think positively," Said Yuto, who was riding on top of Yuya, he had bandages around the places where he was wounded the most, but it looked like an amateur had done it.

Mostly because it was done by three people who were complete amateurs at first-aid.

"Honestly at this point, we should just fight a team and steal an orb from them…" Yuri said, "We'll take any chance we can get, okay Yuri?" Yuto said with a sigh. "I hope that chance involves me kicking ass…" Said Yuri.

"Yugo! You see anything?" Yuya yelled up, Yugo-transformed into Clear Wing-put his arms in the shape of an X, telling him "No, no I haven't".

"Damn… we really need a better plan…" Yuya said, "we wouldn't be in this situation if you had won you know." Yuri said. Yuya's head drooped.

"Hey, they caught us off-guard, okay?" Yuto said, "Would you have expected them to be able to transform into Pendulum Monsters?" He said, "I would've been ready for _anything_" Said Yuri.

Yuya tuned out their bickering, he was still trying to grasp the fact that somebody else could use Pendulum Monsters, TWO more people at that.

But that wasn't what really bothered him, it was something Reiji had said.

He had said that the Pendulum wasn't complete yet.

He couldn't remember what he had said exactly, his power was out of control at the time.

Speaking of that power, what was it? Yuya wasn't sure what it was, but all he could remember was that he couldn't control it, and it backfired.

Suddenly, Yugo flew down next to them, "Guys, there's a group of three up ahead!" He said, sounding excited, "They just have their orb out where you can clearly see it! Let's get em!" He said, Yuri grinned.

"Wait! If they have their orb on display like that, it could be a trap!" Yuto said, "No!" Yelled Yuri, "Where are they? _Which way?" _Yuri said, clearly excited.

Yugo grinned, "Follow me!" He said, flying into the distance, Yuri following from behind. "No-damn it!" Yuto said as two of his brothers flew into the distance, he sighed.

"…Should we follow them?" Yuya asked.

Yuto sighed, "We've got no choice… alright, after them!" Yuto yelled, Yuya let out a roar and dashed in the direction his brothers had flown in.

* * *

"I can see it… I can see it…!" Said Mieru, opening her eyes, "They're coming!" She said, pointing at the sky, Michio and Teppei looked in the direction she was pointing.

"…I don't see anything…" Said Teppei, Michio shook his head, "No… I can see them…" He said, squinting his eyes. "One is coming closer… really quickly…" He said.

"Oh! I see them now!" Teppei exclaimed, "What do we do!?" He yelled. "Stick to the plan, obviously!" Mieru said, "Stick to it and you will be able to defeat the winged, dark, and venomous brothers with ease…" She said.

"O-Okay…" Teppei said, "What about the mysterious one?" He asked, "If he joins his brothers in a fight against you, you will lose…" She said, "So let me deal with him." She said with a look of confidence.

"Here they come!" Yelled Michio, they jumped out of the way as a winged, white dragon crashed into the ground where they stood.

"Mieru! Get out of here!" Michio yelled, "Right!" She said, taking the orb and running.

* * *

"Oi! Get back here!" Yelled Yugo as he spotted a girl holding the orb and running, he attempted to chase after her.

"Oh no, you don't!" Teppei yelled, grabbing an orange card in his hand, "Come on out! Legendary Fisherman!" He yelled, transforming into a large and buff man riding a large shark, he also carried a large harpoon. He rammed into Yugo, grabbing his attention.

"Urgh! Why you…!" He said, readying himself to fight.

What Teppei said: "You won't be getting past me!"

What Teppei was thinking: "Ohshitohshitohshitohshithelooksstrong"

"Out of the way!" Yelled Yugo, charging at him, Teppei shrieked as the shark he was riding rose up to meet the large dragon.

"Teppei! Stick to the plan!" Yelled Michio, an orange card floating in his hand. "R-Right!" He yelled back, taking out a large net from seemingly nowhere. "Take this!" He yelled as he swung the net over the white dragon.

"W-Wha!?" Yugo yelled as the net fell over him and pinned him to the ground, "As if this could just hold me down…!" Yugo said as he attempted to break free.

Suddenly, he glowed a bright blue and went limp. "H-Huh!?" He said, finding that his body was now refusing to move, "What did you do!?" He yelled.

Teppei chuckled, "I'm the Legendary Fisherman!" He exclaimed proudly, "There's nothing I can't catch!" He said proudly. "BUT IM NOT EVEN A FISH!" Yugo yelled angrily.

_Click!_

Yugo turned his head towards the sound, Teppei did the same, they saw Yuri in his human form, holding a phone and taking pictures of the scene in front of him.

He looked up at them, "What?" He said, "By all means keep going, this is great!" He said, grinning maliciously as he took another picture. "YURI YOU ASSHOLE!" Yugo yelled. Yuri laughed.

"Unfortunately, we can't just let you hang around…" Said Michio from behind him, Yuri turned to face him with a cold look, "Oh? And why's that?" He asked. Michio laughed, "So cold!" He said cheerfully, "I don't believe we've introduced ourselves yet, my name is Michio, and his name is Teppei!" He said, smiling the whole time.

"You seem to assume that I care…" Yuri said. Michio chuckled, "Wow, even your _words _have some venom in them…" He said. Yuri raised an eyebrow. "Huh?" He said.

"Nevermind that…" He said as he closed a hand around an orange card, his kind face changing into a smile that rivaled Yuri's. "I'm afraid your fight ends here…!" He said as orange light surrounded him, "Oho?" Yuri grinned, "Bring it on…" He said with a smile, purple light surrounding him as well.

"Come! Starving Venom!" He yelled as he transformed into his dragon.

"Strike them down! Royal Cookmates, Prince Curry!" Yelled Michio, glowing as well.

"…Food?" Yuri said, tilting his head in confusion.

It's not every day that you see a humanoid bowl of curry, wearing a crown, and using a spoon and a physics-defying bowl of rice as a shield.

"Pfft…!" Yuri began to buckle over in laughter, "YOU'RE LITERALLY FOOD!" He yelled as he laughed hysterically, "My name is LITERALLY _Starving Venom Fusion Dragon_!" He yelled, "I must be the _worst _possible matchup for you…!" He yelled, now laughing so hard that tears were starting to form in his eyes.

Suddenly, a spoon was shoved into his mouth.

His first thought was: "What the fu-"

His second thought was: "…Huh… this actually tastes pretty good…"

His third and final thought was: "Wait… is he feeding me with… himself?"

"Wow… Mieru was right…" He said as the dragon in front of him had a mental battle with himself, "you really do let your guard down easily…" He said to himself.

Meanwhile, Yuya and Yuto…

"…I'm getting a bad feeling somehow…" Yuya said as they ran ahead.

"I'm sure its nothing, Yugo and Yuri are strong, they won't lose easily," Yuto said confidently.

_Literally two minutes later…_

"I have lost any and all faith in you two…" Yuto muttered as they stared at Yugo, currently flailing about inside a net uselessly, and Yuri, who laid on his back, looking unnaturally… _bloated._

"Shut up! You try breaking out of this thing!" Yugo yelled, "Pretty sure you _can_…" Yuto muttered, deciding to let him figure out exactly _how _to do that.

"What's your excuse?" He said to Yuri, "I have none, now shut up." He said bluntly.

Yuto sighed, "Where's the orb?" He asked, Yugo struggled a bit and pointed behind him, "A girl took it and went that way!" He said, "Right," Said Yuto, "Yuya, I'll clean up the mess these two got themselves in, you go after the orb." He said.

"But you're…" Yuya began to say, "I'm healed enough to fight, now go!" He said, jumping off of Yuya and transforming.

"Just as planned…" Michio muttered, grinning widely again.

"Take this!" Yelled Yuto as he charged at them, Yuya began to run around them. "Yuya look out!" Yelled Yugo as he ran dangerously close to the duelist who had him pinned.

However, Teppei remained still.

"Huh…?" Yugo muttered as Yuya ran past them.

"Can't believe I'm actually going with this dumb plan…" Teppei muttered as the red dragon went further and further away from him.

* * *

"He should be arriving any minute now…" Mieru muttered, stopping in the middle of a clearing. As soon as she said that, she heard the sound of loud thumps against the ground getting closer.

"Not even bothering to catch me by surprise, eh?" She muttered as she turned to face the noise, "You can't possibly be my fated one…" She muttered.

Yuya skidded to a halt in front of her, she seemed unfazed by the giant beast in front of her. "Sorry, but I'll have to take that…" Yuya said, gesturing at the orb she held in her hand, Mieru grinned at him, "You can try, but I guarantee that you're fated to fail…" She said ominously.

"We'll see about that, won't we?" Yuya said, Timegazer and Stargazer appearing next to him, Mieru shook her head. "Wrong, I've already seen how this will end…" She said, "Huh?" Yuya said, a look of confusion on his face.

"Enough talk, now let us end this…!" Yelled the young girl, a dark-blue card appearing in her hands.

"A ritual monster…!" Yuya exclaimed as she was surrounded in dark blue light. "Descend now! Prediction Princess, Tarotrei!" She yelled, transforming into a ridiculously tall female with clothing of what you'd expect to see on a fortune teller. A veil covered her face, and on her shoulders were shoulder pads that had… extra arms?

"I can see it all clearly now…" She said, closing her eyes and moving her hands in a waving motion. "You will suffer from defeat, here and now!" She said as an orb of dark energy formed in her hands.

"Take this!" She yelled, extending her arms and shooting the orb at the dragon before her. "Timegazer! Stargazer!" He yelled, the magicians nodding and raising their arms, a barrier appearing in front of them. The attack collided against the barrier and the glowing wall shook under the strain.

"Alright, let's go!" Yuya yelled as the magicians took down the barrier, they charged at the ritual monster.

"**Horoscope Cutter!" **

"**Time Trance!"**

"**Spiral Flame Strike!"**

Yuya sent a spiral of flames at the girl, glowing orbs flew around Stargazer before enlarging and flattening, spinning around and flying towards the opponent. Timegazer placed his arms around his waist and a large, golden gear extended around him, glowing with purple energy, and sending three beams of light at the large monster.

"Pointless…" She said, grinning smugly, "The human mind is so easy to fool… **Clones of Deception!" **She said, raising her hands and splitting into two, completely identical copies.

"What!?" Yuya exclaimed as the clones continued to split, in an instant, they were completely surrounded by what, 40-no, 50 copies.

"Crap…! Uhh, that one!" Yuya yelled, redirecting his attack towards the one closest to where she originally was, his magicians also redirected their attacks to two clones next to it.

The attacks hit their marks, but the clones simply disappeared into purple smoke. "What!?" Yuya yelled, looking around him, "Which… which one is the real one!?" He shouted. All of the clones started laughing, filling his ears with the sound of smug laughter.

"It's over, surrender now and I promise it won't hurt too much…" She said smugly, Yuya gritted his teeth.

"I see… then goodbye!" She yelled as all of the clones shot a dark orb at the Odd-Eyed Dragon.

Suddenly, Yuya grinned, "I'm not done yet! Timegazer!" He yelled, the black-robed magician nodded and placed his hands around the golden gear surrounding his waist. "**Inverse Gears!" **Yuya yelled as purple energy flowed around the gear, flowing around the magician and making the shape of an infinity sign.

Suddenly, their bodies began to move on their own, the dark orbs flew back into the clones' hands and disappeared, the clones lowered their hands and began to merge back together.

"W-What!?" Mieru exclaimed, confused as her body moved on its own. "Inverse Gears… time flows backward!" Yuya said as his own body moved on its own, "Only people near me are aware of what has happened, and can react accordingly…" He explained as the clones began to merge back into one, the attacks he and his magicians declared began to move back towards them and disappear.

"Tch…!" Mieru said in annoyance, "Then it changes nothing!" She said as the purple glow around Timegazer began to dissipate.

"Maybe, but not if I do this!" Yuya yelled as the glow completely went out and control of their bodies returned to them, in an instant, Yuya switched from being Odd-Eyes to being Timegazer, the dragon roared while Yuya placed his hands around the golden gear and gripped it tight.

"**Time Freeze!" **Yuya yelled, gripping the gear as tightly as possible as it glowed with purple light again, the world suddenly turned gray, Stargazer and Odd-Eyes slowed down as well, their own color fading from the world.

And then, everything stood still.

Yuya felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead, "_I can't believe that worked!" _He thought. This entire thing was a gamble from the start since he had NO idea he could do this beforehand.

"Pendulum Monsters can be used as either a transformation or a spirit…" He muttered, "but they have more power when used as a transformation…" He said as he floated towards the girl below him. "So I can only do this when transformed as Timegazer… but it's really hard to keep up…!" He said to himself as he felt his grip around the gear loosen ever so slightly, he gripped again.

"I… can stop time for as long as I can physically manage… but it looks like only I can move in it, not my spirits…" He muttered as he glanced at his spirits.

"Timegazer doesn't have much attack power… I guess that means this is all I can do…!" He said as purple orbs appeared next to him, firing three beams of purple light at the ritual monster.

She was blown back a bit, but it didn't exactly do too much damage, she hadn't even reacted yet.

"I guess… that's it…!" He said strainingly, his arms being blown away from the gear, immediately color returned to the world and began to move again, Mieru was blown back a few feet.

"What!?" She exclaimed, not knowing what happened, "Now!" Yuya yelled, his forehead drenched in sweat as he breathed hard and fast, responding to his command, Stargazer and Odd-Eyes sent their own attacks at the large female.

They collided with a satisfying explosion, Yuya fell onto one of his knees and Stargazer helped him back up. "I don't think… I'll be doing that… too often…" He gasped, not only did it take all of his strength to keep time stopped. But during the entire ordeal, it felt like his body was fighting to stay in a single spot while inside a raging river.

He switched back to Odd-Eyes, he was still tired, but switching seemed to alleviate some of it, Timegazer however, looked just as exhausted as him.

"Rest for a bit…" Yuya said. And the tired magician nodded and faded into light.

He heard Mieru get up again, brushing herself off, she hadn't escaped unscathed, but she was relatively fine despite taking two attacks.

"Time Freeze…" She muttered, "I see, you stopped time…" She muttered as she looked at the dragon that panted heavily.

"_It looks like you can't use it again though…" _She thought, a bit of relief washing over her, she had underestimated this boy, and now he had surprised her.

Well, she _was _told by her fortune-telling that she would find her fated o-

She quickly perished the thought, her face slightly red.

"It seems I underestimated you!" She said to him, Yuya quickly gathered himself and faced her. "I guess I'll have to get a little serious now…" She said, her body glowing with a menacing aura.

She raised her hands, the extra hands adorning her copied her actions, her eyes glowed a bright red.

"**Haze of Deception…" **She said softly as a dark purple smoke rose from the ground around them, Yuya reacted immediately. "I won't let you!" He yelled, firing a stream of flames at her.

The flames simply went through her, and she slowly faded as the sound of her laughter filled his ears, in an instant, he could no longer see anything around him, it was all just dark and purple.

"What the…!" He exclaimed, looking around for his surroundings, he could see nothing, he could hardly even see the white-robed magician next to him.

Suddenly, the smoke began to clear around him, he was still in the same spot as before, but Mieru was nowhere to be seen, and was it just him? Or was the sky… darker?

Suddenly he heard her laugh, he whipped around to face where the sound came from and saw her standing there with a smug grin. "There you are!" He yelled, shooting flames at her again, however, the result was the same as before.

"What!? How!?" Yuya yelled, she appeared behind him, he attacked and she vanished immediately.

It happened again and again and again, the result remained the same.

"What's going on!?" He yelled as she appeared behind him again, he didn't attack this time, she grinned and vanished once more, but didn't appear behind him again either.

"What's… happening…" Yuya muttered, looking around at his surroundings, he couldn't find her.

Suddenly, loud laughter filled his ears, he looked around and his eyes were caught by the sight of a large hand on top of a mountain nearby.

Suddenly a ginormous figure began to rise from behind it, revealing who the hand belonged to.

"No way…" Yuya muttered as he craned his neck to stare at her.

"There's no way this is real!" He yelled as he stared up at a Tarotrei so big it dwarfed the mountain it emerged from, laughing loudly.

He suddenly heard the sound of electricity crackling behind him, he turned around and saw three large, white dragons.

"This… this isn't real!" He yelled, sure of what he was saying now.

But right in front of his eyes, were three bigger than normal, Blue Eyes White Dragons.

Meanwhile, Mieru watched from behind a tree nearby, Yuya was unable to see her, but she could see him just fine.

"As I said before…" She said despite knowing Yuya couldn't hear her.

"The Human mind is easy to fool…" She said as the giant Tarotrei began to swing her hand down on top of the duelist, the white dragons as well shot large white streams of light at him.

"It's over…" She said softly, turning away from him.

Yuya screamed, his eyes shining bright red and green as he stared at the attacks coming toward him.

Suddenly, Stargazer moved in front of him, his staff shining with a blinding blue light, Yuya stared at him, time seemingly slowing down, words appeared in his head as the magician glanced at him.

"**Horoscope Divination!" **He yelled, as he yelled this, orbs of blue light shot from Stargazer's staff, lines of light connecting them and forming what looked like a constellation of stars.

Mieru turned to face him again, shocked at what she was seeing.

In an instant, the dark haze around him retreated, the giant Tarotrei faded from existence, as did the three dragons behind him.

"Impossible… he canceled out my illusion!?" She exclaimed, she quickly ran out and transformed again, "Then I'll do it again! And I'll make sure he doesn't break free!" She yelled.

Yuya didn't hear her, he was entranced by the light being emitted from Stargazer because he could see something inside it.

He heard the sound of laughter again, but it wasn't Mieru's, it was like a mischievous child giggling, a black dot appeared at the center of the light, and it slowly grew larger, becoming more than just a dot.

Suddenly, the figure of a girl holding a staff emerged from the light, she was about as tall as Mieru normally, which is pretty short, to be honest, she wore a blue, pink, and yellow dress, and had large, yellow hair. Her staff's end had what looked like a toy skull on it.

"_**Hee hee hee!"**_ She giggled, looking directly at Yuya, she had red and green eyes just like Odd-Eyes, but they were quickly concealed by a black mask that she put on immediately. "_**You seem fun! I like you!" **_She said giddily, grinning widely.

"Who… are you…?" He asked. The girl giggled again. "_**Me? I'm Trump Witch! Performapal Trump Witch to be exact!" **_She said happily, she was flying around him like a child, actually, she probably WAS a child.

"_**Hey! You and that blonde guy are super compatible!"**_ She said happily, raising her staff in the air, red and black skull particles flying from the tip. "_**Mind if I take advantage of that?" **_She asked, though before Yuya had a chance to answer, he saw red and green light fly from the blue orb on his chest, the same color of energy flowed from Stargazer as well.

The energy turned into an orb of light and hung next to each other above Trump Witch's head, they began to flow around each other, merging into a single, swirling whirlpool of color.

Trump Witch raised her hands, her staff suspended in the air next to her, she cupped the whirlpool of color in her hands, above her head. "_**Wielder of Mysterious Powers… Become a bright light… and dwell in the eyes of the Mysterious Dragon!" **_She yelled, glowing with purple light.

"_**FUSION! Be born… Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" **_She yelled, bringing her hands down to her chest in a swift motion, covered in purple light.

Yuya gasped as he heard a roar come from… whatever was in her hands, she opened them and a purple card floated in front of her, it moved towards Yuya, and his transformation dissipated as it hung in front of him.

"_**Fusion Monsters require time in order to manifest… and only when the user has two or more monsters with compatible energies!" **_She said, clearly proud of herself, "_**Sometimes people get lucky and Fusion Monsters just… appear! But you have to be REALLY lucky for that to happen!" **_She explained.

"_**But now that I'm here, I can just take those energies and put them together in a jiffy! Well? Aren't I amazing?" **_She said pridefully, Yuya smiled at her. "Yeah… you're incredible…!" He said, gazing at the card in front of him, he slowly grasped it, and he was surrounded by purple light.

The girl giggled excitedly, "_**I'll be sticking around! Call me if you need me!" **_She said happily as she faded into light.

"Come! Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya yelled, a large smile on his face, and you couldn't tell because of the mask, but Stargazer grinned as well.

Mieru was suddenly blown back by a gust of wind coming from Yuya, she stared at the purple light enveloping him. "A… A Fusion Monster!?" She yelled in surprise.

The light faded, and in its place was a new dragon, the same shade of red as before, but clearly different.

The horns on his back had changed into a large ring that shone with a mysterious light, the horns on his head were the same, though smaller. His left eye shone a bright green, and his right eye was covered with what looked like a metallic eyepatch that shone with the same mysterious energy as his horns.

Yuya roared, the sound echoing around the area, his right eye shone with a bright blue light for a moment.

"Tch… this changes nothing!" She yelled, raising her hands and causing purple smoke to rise from the ground, "**Haze of Deception!" **She yelled, surrounding Yuya in an illusion once more. "_This wasn't in my predictions… how!?" _She thought in a panic.

"Sorry, Miss…" Yuya said softly, Mieru was taken aback, "M-Miss!?" She exclaimed, her face turning red. Yuya roared once more, his eye shining with a bright, blue light.

In an instant, the haze disappeared from existence again.

"What!?" She yelled, "My illusions… in a mere moment…!" She exclaimed, panicking.

"Your illusions will no longer work!" Yuya yelled, "Now, it's time for the finale!" He yelled, jumping into the air, three large white orbs of light appeared in front of him and set themselves on the ring on his back, streams of light flowing between them, making a triangle of light inside the circle.

"Now, it's time for this to come to an end!" He yelled, "**Unending Shining Burst!" **He yelled, firing three beams of light from the orbs on his back, they homed in on Mieru, and she quickly responded. "**Clones of Deception!" **She yelled, splitting into multiple different clones and moving in different directions.

"You aren't getting away!" Yuya yelled, firing even more beams of light, each homing in on a separate clone.

The beams struck all of the clones one by one, defeating them all until finally, one struck the real one.

"Kyaaa!" Mieru yelled. All of the clones disappeared when she was hit, and the remaining lasers changed direction and went towards her. "Not yet…!" She yelled, conjuring a dark barrier around her, the beams struck the barrier and pushed her up into the air.

Mieru grunted as she struggled to keep her defenses up, her barrier shattered just as the beams sputtered out, leaving her suspended in the air.

"Now, the finale!" Yuya yelled, suddenly underneath her, "Take this!" He yelled as a large orb of light manifested within his ring, firing a large beam towards her, "Aaah! AAAAH!" Mieru yelled as the beam struck her, blowing her further into the air. "It… It can't be…! My divinations are always correct…!" She yelled as the beam continued to push her higher and higher up.

"I… I lost!?" She yelled as her transformation dissipated, confirming Yuya's victory.

She hung suspended in the air for what seemed like an eternity, she had lost, despite her divinations telling her that she would win…

Then, she started falling.

"E-EEEYAAAAAH!" She screamed, plummeting towards the ground, she could see the ground getting closer at a rapid pace. "_I-I can't transform…!" _She thought, fear overtaking her mind, after just being defeated, she wouldn't be able to transform for a while, was there some sort of safety precaution taken for this round in case of situations like this? She didn't know and was honestly too scared to think of it.

She never found that out though.

She suddenly felt arms wrap themselves around her, and she found herself carried in a bridal position. She looked up towards the person who had saved her.

"Are you okay, Miss?" Said the voice of Yuya, the very person who had just defeated her, he had reverted out of his transformation and brought out Odd-Eyes as a Spirit, and had ridden the dragon up to catch her.

Mieru felt her face grow hot, was he always this handsome? Did he always have so many sparkles in his eyes? Did he always have sparkling stars floating around his face? Again, WAS HE ALWAYS THIS HANDSOME!?

Blood spurted from her nose as she passed out in his arms.

"Ah! Her nose is bleeding!" Yuya yelled in a panic, "Isn't that a bad thing!?" He yelled in a panic.

Stargazer placed a hand up to his forehead.

"…I'm sure she's okay… right?"

Stargazer sighed.

"…Yeah, I'm sure she's fine…"

Stargazer sighed louder.

"Darliiiiing…!" Muttered an unconscious Mieru, though Yuya didn't hear her.

Stargazer sighed _louder._

* * *

"Where the heck did you go?" Serena berated, digging her knuckles into the sides of Yuzu's head. "Ow ow ow ow ow! Stop it Sis! It hurts!" Yuzu yelled as the blue-haired girl continued to noogie the pinkette.

"Come now, that's enough…" Said Ruri, calmly and gently moving Serena away from Yuzu's aching head. "She may have given away our first-aid kit AND left us a member short at the _last and most important part of this round…" _Said Ruri as she placed a hand on Yuzu's shoulder and squeezed.

"But we still passed! So let's just forgive and forget, shall we?" She said while her grip on Yuzu's shoulder tightened, Serena and Rin took a step back, wary of the older sister. "Provided…" Ruri continued, "You don't run off again, okay?" Ruri said kindly, she had a beautiful smile on her face, but the sisters could sense the threat behind her words.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" Yuzu said, quickly moving away from the girl.

"Why did you run off anyways?" Rin asked curiously.

Yuzu sighed, "I… I was just worried about Yuya…" She said, her face turning pink, "Hm? What do you mean?" Rin asked.

"Well, I dunno, I had a feeling that he was there and he was in trouble…" She said, "And well, I was right, he was covered head to toe in injuries…" She said sheepishly.

"So you gave them our first-aid kit?" Rin asked.

"Well, I was treating him myself until suddenly I was warped away…" Said Yuzu.

Rin grinned, "Why were you so worried about him?" Rin asked, "Well, we're friends!" Said Yuzu. "You're also friends with his brothers as well, weren't you worried about them too?" Rin asked, still grinning.

"W-Well, yes but…" Yuzu stuttered.

"You have a crush, don't you…" Rin said mischievously, Yuzu's face went red, "W-WHAT!? N-No I don't! W-What gave you t-that i-idea!?" Yuzu stammered, her sisters grinned as well but decided to let Rin have the fun.

"Come on, admit it! You'll feel better if you do!" Rin said giddily, Yuzu's face burned, "N-No!" She yelled as she covered her face with her hands, Rin continued to tease her, "Come on… is it Yuya? It's definitely Yuya…" She said teasingly, Yuzu's face continued to burn.

"L-Like you're one to talk!" Yuzu exclaimed, "Huh?" Rin said, confused.

"You have a crush on Yugo but you're still pretending to be angry at him!" Yuzu yelled. Rin's face went red, "W-WHAT!? No, I don't! I hate his guts!" Rin yelled, her face now as red as Yuzu's.

"Keep telling yourself that…" Said Ruri and Serena.

"Guys!" Rin yelled, upset at their betrayal, "I do _NOT _have a crush on him!" Rin yelled.

"Pot calling the kettle black much?" Muttered Serena, "You're no longer allowed to tease Yuzu about her clearly obvious crush now!" Ruri said kindly, "You guuuuuuuuuuys!" Rin yelled. They all laughed.

"What about you, Serena?" Asked Ruri, "Anyone you've got your eye on?" She asked. Serena scoffed, "Nah, and every male in this school should be grateful!" She said, "They probably wouldn't be able to handle me anyways!" Serena said with a hint of… pride?

"Oh come on, really?" Ruri asked, "Not even Yuri? You hang around him a lot." Said Ruri while thinking about the two and how they often plot schemes on how to cause chaos together, Serena chuckled, "I dunno, maybe? Probably not," Serena said as she leaned back, "But I'll tell you this, if anyone can manage to handle the amount of shit I'll give them, they deserve to have me." Serena said, almost proudly.

"What about you Ruri?" Yuzu asked as her face cooled down, Ruri thought for a moment.

"Hmm… I dunno, Yuto seems nice, and he can cook too!" Ruri said, "He's dependable and tough, really mature, and I guess he's cute too…" Ruri said thoughtfully. "I guess if I _had _to find a date or something, I'd choose him…" She said innocently, "I don't think I've been swept off my feet yet though, so who knows?" Ruri said happily.

"Talking about boys, are you?" Said the voice of Syrup, who had appeared behind them.

"Oh! Hey Syrup!" Said Yuzu, Syrup cheerfully greeted her back, "If you want, I can give you advice!" She said cheerfully, "Advice?" Serena asked curiously.

"Yup! I may not look like it, but I've dated someone before!" She said cheerfully, "And I _am _technically older than all of you!" She said.

"Hmm, I think we're good, I'd rather just let those two dorks work out their crushes on their own, it'll be hilarious!" Said Serena, Yuzu and Rin blushed, "Hey!" They yelled.

"Suit yourself!" Said Serena cheerfully, sitting down next to them. "Where's Soul?" Asked Ruri, "Oh, he's just over there," Syrup said, pointing behind her to where the guy slept soundly on the ground. "I was getting tired of carrying him everywhere, so he told me to just leave him there, he'd get up later." She said happily.

"You said you've dated someone before, what was he like?" Serena asked. Syrup sighed, "Well, where do I start…" She said dreamily, "How about his name?" Said Rin, Syrup smiled.

"Well okay then! His name was Drake," She started, looking at the sky dreamily, "Red and Orange hair, looked like his head was a fire hazard!" She said jokingly, "He was… well… hotheaded? But mature at the same time…" She began to explain, "when we first met, he had come up to me suddenly, and slammed his hand against the wall I was leaning against…" She said with a grin.

"Apparently his little sister told him that if you wanted to get a date, you had to perform a thing called a 'kabedon' or 'wall-slam' in order to improve your chances," She said, laughing a bit, "I don't know if that was good advice or bad advice, but either way, it didn't work," She said bluntly, "Yes, I got nervous suddenly, and my heart raced when he said 'I'm in love with you, please go out with me' but…" She said with a smile.

"It was a guy I'd just met! I wasn't gonna say 'yes' all of a sudden, you know?" She said with a giggle.

"_I'm sorry, but I have to refuse!"_

"_Eh? Why? I did the thing and everything!"_

"_We've just met! I can't just say yes to someone I don't even know!"_

"_Ah… I see…"_

Syrup smiled, "He didn't give up though, he tried every single cliche confession in the book…" She said, memories flying through her head. "I turned him down every single time, and I later found out that it was again, his sister giving him advice…" She said.

"One day though, I got mixed up with the wrong crowd…" She said, her smile drooping ever so slightly, "I didn't mean to… but it happened and well… I was in a tough spot…" She said, a hint of sadness in her usually peppy voice.

"And well… one day I couldn't pay up and they decided to make good on their threats…" She said, twirling her finger on the grass nervously, "It was… a bad time…" She admitted.

"What happened next?" Asked Yuzu, she and her sisters leaning in, Syrup laughed nervously, "Well, despite being cliche, it actually was completely coincidental…" She said with a smile, "Drake happened to look into the alleyway and saw three big guys surrounding me…" She said.

"_Oi! What's going on here!"_

"_Huh? Who the fuck are you?"_

"_That's what I wanna know, asshole!"_

"_The fuck you just say!?"_

"_Hey! Don't worry about me! I'm fine, just go away!" She yelled, of all the times for this guy to arrive, this was the worst, but she wasn't about to just let this guy get involved with… these people._

"_Sorry but your definition of 'fine' seems pretty warped!" He yelled back, "What's going on here?" He asked, suddenly the big dude he'd just called an asshole walked up to him._

"_Get going kid, and I promise I'll only beat ya close to death…" He said menacingly, "Huh!? What kinda messed up deal is that, asshole!" Drake yelled back, "Why you…!" Said the thug, taking out a large knife, Syrup gasped in fear._

_Suddenly, there was a flash, and flames were suddenly everywhere, the big dude, who was about twice Drake's size, was sent flying into the wall opposite to him._

_She looked up and saw that Drake was no longer there, she couldn't see it properly, but it was covered in flames._

_He had transformed._

"Huh!?" Yelled the sisters, leaning further in and surprising Syrup, "He transformed? Weren't you guys like, really young back then?" Yuzu asked. Syrup laughed nervously, "He was well… nothing short of a prodigy!" She said cheerfully, "He'd always wanted to become a duelist, and he was definitely going to be able to…" She said softly.

"He was a rare case, a rare case since he was four, a child with the power to transform…" She said with a smile, "Something that apparently only happens once every twenty years…" She said with a smile, "He wasn't exactly the strongest out there, but it was already impressive enough that he could transform…" She said softly.

"_What the hell!?"_

"_He's a Duelist!?"_

"_No way, he's way too young!"_

_Syrup could hardly believe her eyes, she could hardly make out the figure within the flames, but it was incredible…_

_In an instant, all of the guys around her were blasted away, she saw the flames dissipate, and the oh so familiar boy was back._

"_Damn you, you'll pay for this!" Yelled one of the thugs as they climbed over the wall in the attic, the other two following him, "Eff you too, assholes!" Drake yelled back._

"_Not so tough, are they?" He said confidently, clapping his hands together and turning around, he helped Syrup back to her feet, "You okay?" He asked, "Y-Yeah…" Syrup said nervously._

"_Welp, I've gotta go now," He said nonchalantly, "Stay safe, okay?" He said as he turned and began to exit the alleyway._

"_Wait!" She called after him, "hm?" He turned around to face her._

"_What, you aren't gonna ask me out again?" She asked, "Course not, I'm not about to ask a girl something like that after a scary experience like that!" He said hotly._

"_I-I wasn't scared!"_

"_Yeah, sure you weren't"_

"_Besides, you'd turn me down then berate me about how this wasn't a good time, wouldn't you?" He said with a grin, "I'll see you around, see ya!" He said as he left the alleyway._

"…_I'll consider it!" Syrup yelled. Drake stopped in place._

"…_I'll consider it, okay?" She said, he didn't answer, instead, she heard him continue to walk away, and five seconds later, a loud "WOOHOO!"_

"And well, long story short, later on, I finally said yes!" She said cheerfully, the girls in front of her were silent for a moment.

"That's so cute…" Said Yuzu.

"He seems nice…" Said Rin

"Pfft, that story is so cliche I might die…" Said Serena

"What a beautiful story!" Said Ruri.

"So, where is he now?" Yuzu asked, Syrup's smile suddenly disappeared.

"Well… let's just say that some… _stuff_ happened and…" She began to say sadly, "It… well, became impossible for us to see each other anymore…" She said sadly, "Oh…" Said the four girls, they decided not to dig into what exactly happened anymore.

Syrup suddenly smiled again, "Well, it's all in the past now, so no need to get hung up on it!" She said cheerfully.

"Anyways, I should probably make sure Soul is okay, talk to you all later!" She said before getting up and walking towards the sleeping boy, picking him up and carrying him under her arm.

"Well, I wonder how the boys are doing…" Said Serena, breaking the silence, they turned their heads toward a floating screen in the sky.

"Oh look, Yuya is carrying a girl in bridal style!" Said Ruri, she looked at Yuzu and had to hold in her laughter as she stared at her blank face.

"Better hurry, Yuzu…" Said Serena teasingly, "Or else someone might steal your man…" She teased.

Her reaction, however, wasn't to blush and deny everything.

Instead, she had taken out a paper fan, and was glaring at the girl in Yuya's arms with what can only be described as "Women's intent to kill".

Serena laughed out loud, Yuzu ignored her.

**And with that, not only have we gotten a fight scene AND Rune-Eyes, we also got a little bit of Syrup's backstory, I guarantee there's more, and I guarantee Soul has a backstory as well.**

**What do I think of Mieru? She's okay, a shame she stopped existing during and after Synchro Arc.**

**Anyways, I'll see you all next time! The fun is just getting started!**


	9. Chapter 9: Eyes of Primal Instinct

**Do I consider Mieru a possible relationship for Yuya? Well, for me, a diehard fruitshipper, the chances are about as high as my self-esteem in real life.**

***coughs***

**The time between the publishing of this chapter and the last one **_**started **_**with me working, then April 16th came, and I was too busy screaming about Joker finally being in smash to actually work.**

**The days afterward were spent waiting for the update to arrive, and then practicing him like crazy, which took up all of my time and caused me to promptly stop writing and waste all my time.**

**But it's JOKER, I regret nothing.**

**(****人◕****ω◕)**

**Chapter 9: Eyes of Primal Instinct**

"_This ritual will be dangerous, Soul… are you sure about doing this?" Said the worried voice of a girl._

"_Yup, I can handle it, what's the worst that could happen?" Said the voice of Soul, tired, but not as tired as we usually see him._

Soul's eyes shot open, waking up from a dream that unlike other dreams, he didn't particularly welcome, he looked around and found himself laying next to Syrup, who was sitting up and looking at the live feed of the round.

She noticed him and smiled, "Finally awake, sleepyhead?" She asked cheerily.

"_Finally awake, sleepyhead?"_

The voice that talked to him in his dream seemed to echo even more now, he sighed and laid back down, "Not for long…" He said lazily, Syrup chuckled and allowed him to continue dozing off.

Apparently, most people forgot about their dreams after having them, or at least, most of the important details. But for some reason… he didn't, he remembered every dream he's had as though it was an actual memory, perhaps it was because he slept so much.

He felt his eyes droop again, "Not exactly a nightmare…" He muttered so nobody could hear him, "But I'd rather have something else please…" He said, slowly drifting back into a deep slumber.

* * *

"That boy… Yuya Sakaki, correct?" Asked the Doctor, Atem glanced at him, "Yes… he's been quite… interesting…" Atem answered, wary of the grey-haired man. "A new type of monster…" The Doctor said, clearly interested in the image of the boy holding a short, unconscious girl in his arms.

"Yes… we've been monitoring him during his classes… it appears he's given them the name Pendulum Monsters…" He said calmly, "The first to use them… and it doesn't seem he knows particularly much about them either…" He explained, "His Dragon… it was originally a Standard Monster… but it changed…" He said.

"The first Pendulum User…" The Doctor said in a creepy sort of awe, "But it seems that he's not the only one anymore…" The Doctor pointed out, turning their attention to the team lead by Reiji Akaba.

Roger decided to join the topic, "Akaba… is he not the son of Academia's Headmaster?" He asked with a smile, Doctor grinned at him, "Why yes actually…" He responded. Atem raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" He asked, the truth was that he already knew, but he never did find out _why _he attended his school instead of his father's, "Why does he not attend classes at Academia instead?" He asked curiously, but he kept his guard up.

"Hmm… yes, I wonder why…" The Doctor said cryptically, though his face remained stuck in a large smile, actually, he hadn't stopped smiling since he came into the room, Atem admitted to himself that he was a little creeped out by that.

Nevertheless, Atem could tell he was lying, a little gift he's always had, this man knew exactly why… but he wasn't going to get an answer by prying any further. "Hm…" Atem said, dropping the subject.

Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed through the battlefield, Atem looked towards a floating monitor that displayed Kaiba standing over a series of brutally beaten teams. He was laughing loudly, gloating his victory over the fallen opponents.

Atem grinned and placed two fingers up to the side of his head, "Kaiba…" He said calmly, "I believe I told you to hold back…" He said with a grin, knowing what kind of answer he'd get in response.

"Pah! If they can't handle this level of strength than they never should have challenged me in the first place!" He yelled angrily, Atem was speaking directly into his mind, so only he could hear him.

Atem smiled as a memory flashed through his mind.

"_I swear to you!" Kaiba yelled, "I will not lose… I will lose to NO ONE until I defeat you…" He yelled, gritting his teeth, he was struggling to stand, injuries covering his body, but he still stood tall._

"_YOU HEAR ME?" He yelled, "NO ONE, I WILL LOSE TO NO ONE, UNTIL WE FIGHT, AND I EMERGE VICTORIOUS!" He screamed, his deep blue eyes shining with a burning determination. "I SWEAR IT!" He yelled before turning and walking away, ignoring the pain caused by his injuries._

"Should've figured… but Kaiba, all of the orbs have to be recovered for the game to end…" Atem said calmly.

"Then I guess this game will never end then!" Kaiba said angrily.

"Kaiba…" Atem said calmly.

"Keh!" Kaiba ignored him.

"Kaiba," Atem said, his voice now stern.

Kaiba continued to ignore him.

"_Kaiba," _Atem said, even more sternly now.

"Oh FINE," Kaiba said angrily, he looked at a team that was observing him from nearby, they thought he couldn't see them, they were wrong.

He transformed into Blue Eyes again and chucked the orb directly at them, they dodged the large, white orb frantically, it crashed into the ground and kept going for a few feet.

"Take it and leave! I'm done here!" He yelled, turning back to normal and walking away.

Atem decided to just leave it be.

* * *

"I'm never listening to that girl's crazy divinations… ever again…" Teppei groaned.

"They… usually, turn out to be true…" Michio replied.

"Define usually…" Teppei said back.

"…She has her bad moments…" Michio admitted.

"OH REALLY?" Teppei yelled from underneath his own net.

Both he and Michio had been defeated, despite doing everything Mieru had told them to do. "Good to see you remembered you could shoot light from your wings…" Yuto said to Yugo, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Yeah yeah…" Yugo said, it had taken him a full 10 minutes of Yuto fighting alone for him to remember he could do that, and he promptly broke free from his confinement.

"I said that I could throw up on command…" Yuri said, holding his stomach, "But I never said it was pleasant…" He groaned, Yuri had spent his 10 minutes deciding whether or not it was worth it to hurl up that much food in one go, but inevitably did what he had to do.

"Both of you still need to redeem yourselves…" Yuto said in a tone that told them that the next time something like this happened, he wouldn't help them.

Yuya ran up to them with the girl in his arms, Yugo whistled, "Damn Yuya! Already picking up chicks?" He teased, Yuya blushed hotly, "N-no! That's not it!" He yelled, "She just fainted! It's not right to just leave a girl laying down in the middle of nowhere!" He shouted.

"Ooh… such a gentleman…" Yuri teased, "Someone's gonna be a good boyfriend someday…" He said mischievously, "I'm placing my bets on Ms. Pink-Hair…" He whispered, though he intentionally made sure Yuya could hear him.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" He yelled, a blush prominent on his face.

"Yuri, it isn't a bet if everyone agrees…" Said Yuto, adding more fuel to the teasing-fire.

"Guyyyyys!" Yuya yelled, his brothers all laughed.

"Let's just leave them here, we'll travel on Yuya to try and stay low and get back without any trouble…" Said Yuto, Yugo pumped his fist in the air, "Woohoo! No more constant flying!" He yelled happily.

"Uhh… how far are we from the goal anyway?" Yuya asked nervously, "And which way is it?" He added to his questions.

"From when I was in the air earlier, I can confidently say it's that way!" Yugo said with a grin, pointing directly in front of him.

Both Yuya and Yuto looked at Yuri for confirmation.

Yuri shrugged, "Believe it or not, Fusion is actually correct…" Yuri said casually, earning a "Hey!" and a "My name isn't FUSION, It's YUGO!"

"And the distance…?" Yuya asked hesitantly.

"Hmm… well, how should I put it…" Yuri said with a grin, "I'd say… and this really is just a guesstimate really…" He said, his mouth slowly contorting into a grin. "About 15 miles away!" He said cheerfully.

Yuya groaned, "I guess I've got some running to do…" He said with a loud sigh.

* * *

"Hey… what's going on over there…?" Gongenzaka asked. Sora turned his attention to what he was looking at, he had a pretty good view from the large height Big Benkei offered.

He saw a three-man team surrounded by three four-man teams of identically dressed duelists, all of them wore a blue uniform, as well as a white mask with red eyes.

"Hmm… Academia students I believe…" He responded, staring at them with interest.

The three-man team each transformed into different monsters, "Cut them down! Flame Swordsman!" Yelled one of them, transforming into a large man with an orange helmet and armor, as well as a large, flaming sword.

"Fight them off! Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #1!" Yelled another, transforming into a large blue dragon, "Beat them down! Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress #2!" Yelled the other, transforming into an identical dragon, except red instead of blue.

All of the Academia students grinned maliciously, "Fools… know your place!" One of them yelled, and all at once, all three four-man teams-twelve people in total, transformed into identical monsters.

"Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!" They all yelled in unison, suddenly surrounding the three duelists with a pack of mechanical dogs, each growling menacingly. The Flame Swordsman grinned, "There may be a lot of you… but if that's all you've got, then we've got this!" He yelled confidently.

How wrong he was.

Before they could even move, a shower of fireballs was shot from the mouths of every single Hunting Hound, showering them all with attacks that were more powerful than anybody expected.

"Crap…! These guys are stronger than they look!" Yelled the red Winged Dragon, holding his wings up defensively, however to no avail.

"Crap…! Take this!" Yelled the swordsman, waving his sword and sending a burst of flames towards the enemies, only to be canceled out by one of the many fireballs raining down on them.

In less than a minute, all three of them laid defeated on the ground, covered in burn marks.

"That's… they're teaming up!?" Gongenzaka yelled angrily, clenching a shaking fist. "This… this is unfair! Unmanly! I the man, Gongenzaka, WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!" He yelled, starting to move towards them.

He got multiple hard knocks to his head, courtesy of Sora. "Hey!" He yelled, Sora took a lollipop out of his mouth and stared at him, "Are you an idiot? There's only two of us, we'll lose to the same strategy, even if it does take a little longer than those guys…" He said calmly.

"But still!" Gongenzaka protested, Sora patted the large head of Big Benkei, "Relax, if we see them in the next part of the tournament, we'll just kick their asses then!" He said with an innocent smile, Gongenzaka was clearly annoyed, but he turned his back and continued walking towards the goal.

"Dishonorable… of all the cowardly…" He grumbled as they made their way through an expansion of trees, the large podium where their victory awaited was visible in the distance.

* * *

"Hey, Soul…" Syrup said to the sleeping male, he opened a single eye to show he was paying attention. "Why are you always tired?" She asked curiously, "I mean, you're almost _always _sleeping…" She pointed out, Soul sighed.

"I'm just a lazy guy who likes to sleep, nothing more, nothing less…" He said calmly, Syrup gave him a curious look, "I dunno… you seem like the kind of guy with a backstory…" She said, turning around to face him and laying on her stomach, staring him in the eye.

"Well… you definitely have a backstory…" Soul pointed out, "What? No, I don't!" She said cheerfully, "If I did, it'd be pretty lame actually!" She said jokingly.

"Syrup…" Soul said, now looking her in the eye, "I'm a writer, and you…" He said, grunting as he sat up, "are a character that just _screams _about a backstory…" He said calmly.

"Real life, unfortunately, is different from a story, Soul…" She said as she pulled on his cheek, Soul sighed.

"I dunno… for some people, their backstory makes for some pretty good plot material…" He said casually, "I bet yours is about your ex, you always get awkward about the topic of what happened that caused you to break up…" He said, staring into her green eyes.

"That's just because it's a sensitive subject!" She said in a defending sort of way, "Hm… you see, that just now was you telling the truth…" He said with a gaze that seemed to gaze into her soul (pun entirely intended).

"Yes, I was…" She said, her voice trailing off.

"Hm… I'll drop it for now…" He said, laying back down on the ground.

"What about you then!" Syrup said as she poked his cheek, though he didn't visually react to it, "I know you're strong! Way stronger than even Armed Dragon LV 10!" She said, raising her hands in the air in a hand gesture towards the amount of power he apparently had.

"Yeah, so?" He said in response.

"But you NEVER use it!" She said with a hint of anger in her voice, "That's because it's a pain!" Soul said, matching the slight anger in her voice.

"Clearly not when you get angry though!" She said accusingly, "I may not have seen it, but you _definitely _blew a guy 10 feet away in an _instant _when he ruined your art!" She said, reminiscing about their first meeting.

_Flashback_

"Hey, whatcha drawing?" Asked some big, jock-like dude, in Soul's hands was a notepad with a halfway-finished drawing of a man with a large greatsword in his hands.

"Nothing…" Soul responded, that response usually being enough to let people know that he was too focused to care about having a conversation.

"Come on… lemme get a better look!" He said loudly, placing a large hand on his shoulder and accidentally shaking him while his pen was on the page.

Suddenly, a long stroke of ink had been slashed across the page.

"Ooh… sorry man…" He said, seeming apologetic, but then he had the nerve to start _laughing_ about it, directly after apologizing.

A flash of dark blue light enveloped the room.

The guy was suddenly blasted across the room.

Another flash of light and Soul was back to normal before anyone could even see what he had just done.

He scribbled large lines over the page and turned it over, "Now I have to start all over again…" He muttered angrily.

He suddenly saw two female hands slam themselves in front of him, he looked up at who was bothering him now.

His and Syrup's eyes met in that very moment, her eyes were full of wonder and surprise.

"_Oh great…" _He thought to himself, "Here we go…" He said out loud with a tone of exasperation.

_Flashback over._

"Okay, _that _guy was an asshole!" He retorted, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go back to sleep!" He said loudly before plopping his head down on the ground and promptly, immediately even, fell back asleep.

Syrup puffed her cheeks, the power she had seen that day was much higher than anything Armed Dragon could pull off, and she was determined to see exactly what that power was.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Yugo asked for the umpteenth time.

"I wish we were…" Yuya said tiredly as he ran through a plain, Yuto holding onto the horns on his head, and Yugo and Yuri each holding on to one of his back-horns.

"You know, I heard that the more you ask about whether we're at our destination…" Yuri said with a grin, "The longer it takes to reach the place you're going to…" He said calmly.

"Oh come on, that's just some superstitious bullsh-" Yugo started to say before being cut off by Yuya, "Yugo, can you kindly shut up?" He said with a kind tone.

"…Fine…" Yugo muttered, promptly shutting up.

"So Yuya, what was your fight with the short-chick like?" Yuri asked curiously, Yuya grinned, "Well, I unlocked a Fusion Monster, so that's cool…" He said casually, Yuto and Yugo nearly fell off of him.

"Seriously!? That's awesome!" Yugo said excitedly, "Now you can use Pendulum AND Fusion!" He pointed out. "I see you made the right choice and took after me in the regard of monster type…" Yuri said smugly, "Oh, shut up Yuri…" Yuto grumbled.

Yuya laughed, he enjoyed moments like this, just him and his brothers bickering over whatever.

As he thought this, he ran through some trees and stopped as he made his way into the clearing.

"Well, we got off to a rocky start…" Yuto said with a grin, "But we've done it, you guys!" He said, they all grinned.

They could see the podium clearly, other contestants were already there, waiting for the round to finally end.

Yuto clutched the orb under his arm, "Alright Yuya, you ready to sprint?" He asked. Yuya grinned (though he was panting visibly), "Of course!" He said optimistically, Yuto patted his head, "Sorry for making you run this long…" He apologized.

"You can make it up to me later," Yuya said to him, Yuto chuckled, "Whatever you want Yuya…" He said as Yuya took off at full speed.

Suddenly, a large crash of lightning hit the ground in front of them, "WHOA!" Yuya yelled while skidding to a halt, his brothers yelled the same as they nearly fell off of him.

"What… the _hell _was that!?" Yugo yelled angrily. Before his attention was grabbed by three figures standing in front of them. All of them wore some sort of kimono for clothing, one had dark-brown hair and a long ponytail, the other wore an orange headband that had two knots at the side, and behind them was a taller boy with long, purple hair.

"Oh?" Yuri said with a look of interest, "Are you the asses that shot lightning at us?" He asked politely, though he glared at them with a malicious smile.

"Sakaki brothers!" Yelled the purple-haired boy, stepping forward and glaring directly at them. "Sons of Yusho Sakaki, correct?" He asked although it was in more of an accusing tone rather than a questioning one.

"Who wants to know?" Yuri replied smugly, Yuto clenched the orb under his arm tightly.

"As if we have to tell _you_!" Yelled the guy with the headband, Yuri took note of how he was the shortest of the three. "Enough…" Said the purple-haired boy, stepping forward again.

"My name is Kachidoki, Isao Kachidoki…" he said while he glared at them, "The two behind me are Ken Umesugi…" He said as he pointed to the boy with the long ponytail, "And Makoto Takeda…" He said as he pointed to the boy with the headband.

"Alright… are you here to fight with us?" Yuri asked with a grin, Kachidoki glared at them.

"We aren't here to fight… we're here to _destroy _you!" He declared angrily, Yuri's grin widened, his other brothers were inclined to take a step back, as they could practically feel Yuri's urge to jump off and attack them right this instant.

"Bold of you to assume that you weaklings will stand a chance against us…" Yuri said mockingly, "As if we would lose to the son of the man who duels in such a _disgraceful manner" _Kachidoki replied, Yuri's eye twitched.

"He's referring to Dad's entertainment dueling, isn't he?" Yugo said, like all of his brothers, he was glaring at the purple-haired boy.

"Yuto? May I please go and thrash the plebeians who insulted our dear father?" Yuri said with a scary amount of kindness.

Yuto's eyes were dark, "I'm thinking about it…" He said darkly.

The headband boy, Makoto, sneered and laughed, "Oh? Looks like they don't like it when we insult their _daddy!" _He said mockingly, Ken (long-ponytail-guy) grinned as well.

"That's it, I'm killing them," Yuri said, dismounting Yuya and walking forward.

"Yuya, get the orb to the pedestal, but wait until we thrash these guys…" Yuto said as he shoved the orb into the odd-eyed dragon's mouth.

"H-huh!?" Yuya exclaimed before he was rendered unable to talk due to the orb in his mouth, he quickly changed back into himself while keeping Odd-Eyes out as a spirit, the orb still in the dragon's maw.

"You guys pushed the wrong buttons…" Yugo muttered as he also walked forward, Yuya sighed, he was also mad about their father being insulted, but his brothers probably got the angriest in that regard.

"Can't help but notice you have no orb…" Yuri said to their opponents as they walked forward, "You didn't happen to be waiting here _just _for us to come along, were you?" He said in a mocking manner.

"Yes, we were also able to confirm that the orb you carry is the last one available…" Kachidoki claimed, "Fitting for the sons of a weakling…" He responded.

"I dare you to insult dad again…" Yugo said as he cracked his knuckles, "See where that gets you…" He said as he gritted his teeth.

"If you insist…" Said Ken, "Your dad is…" He started to say.

"_Starving Venom!"  
_"_Clear Wing!"_

"_Dark Rebellion!"_

In a flash of purple, white, and blue light, all three of Yuya's brothers charged at the three boys in front of them in the forms of their dragons.

"Come!" Kachidoki yelled as he and his teammates ran forward, all of them glowing with purple light.

"Supreme Thunder Star, Raijin!" Yelled Ken.

"Fujin, the Great Storm Star!" Yelled Makoto.

"Idaten, the Conqueror Victory Star!" Yelled Kachidoki.

Three large warriors clashed with the dragons, Ken had become a large warrior clad in yellow armor and carried a large yellow spear, Makoto became a similar monster with green armor and a large green spear as well.

Kachidoki clashed with Yuto as a monster with purple armor and a red cape, along with a sinister-looking purple spear, Ken clashed with Yuri, and Makoto clashed with Yugo.

Meanwhile, the duelists who had already passed noticed the large shockwave that reverberated around them when they clashed.

"Oh! Look at that!" Said Ruri, standing up with her sisters.

"There they are! Took them long enough…" Serena said as they watched the Dragons clash with the large warrior monsters.

"Who're those guys though…" Yuzu muttered, referring to their enemies. The brothers separated into the air with their opponents following them.

The crowd murmured with excitement as the monsters flew through the air, clashing together occasionally.

"Take this you asshole!" Yelled Yugo as his wings glowed, "**Dichroic Mirror!" **He yelled, firing a large stream of energy towards the green-armored warrior. "Bring it on!" Yelled the duelist, pointing his spear at him and sending a large tornado in his direction, the two attacks clashed and exploded in the air.

"Take this!" Yelled Makoto, raising his spear into the air, the sky suddenly darkened with clouds.

"Hm?" Yuri said before being struck by a large bolt of lightning from the sky. "Ugh… I take it you're responsible for the lightning earlier…!" He said with a grin.

The large yellow warrior grinned at him, deciding not to answer him and continued to shock him with electricity.

"It's a nice ability… I'll be taking it!" Yuri yelled, his wings suddenly opened up, revealing to be large, carnivorous plants.

"What the…!" Makoto exclaimed before one of the wings suddenly shot off of Yuri and flew towards him, biting down hard on his arm.

"OW!" Makoto yelled, the attack shocking him out of his attack and stopping the stream of lightning that was striking Yuri.

"Ah… that's better… now…" Yuri said menacingly, the mouth that had latched itself onto his enemy started glowing with sinister red energy, suddenly Makoto yelled out in pain, and the red glow around Yuri's wing changed to yellow, and that energy began to flow down through the plant and into Yuri.

Yuri licked his lips as the energy flow stopped and his wing detached itself from Makoto, returning to him while his eyes glowed a menacing green. "Mm… tasty…" He said as the large warrior clutched his arm where it was bitten.

"Damn you… take this!" He yelled, pointing his spear at Yuri and firing a large stream of lightning at him.

"Hah! You wish that would work again!" Yuri yelled, raising a large arm that crackled with electricity. "What!?" Makoto yelled as an equally large stream of lightning was fired from Yuri's hand, clashing with his own attack.

"Hm… quite a nice ability, I must say…" Yuri said with a large grin, his enemy entered a state of slight panic, and Yuri noticed it. "It looks like I was right…" He said as his wings opened again and large roots spread out behind him, a large green orb of light forming in the middle.

"You're just no match for me…" He said with a malicious grin as he fired a large laser at the large yellow target, he was too occupied with the lightning attack he was already fighting to counter the second attack.

"Agh!" He yelled as the attack hit its mark, knocking him out of the sky, Yuri grinned evilly and chased after him.

"Take this! **Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" **Yugo yelled, his body surrounding itself in a storm of powerful green winds as he charged at Ken.

"I won't lose to you!" Yelled the large green warrior, clashing with the large dragon with a spear surrounded by the wind.

"It's over for you!" Yugo yelled, putting more force into his attack, causing the spear to break clean in half. "D-Damn it!" Ken yelled as he was hit with the full force of Yugo's attack.

"We're not done with you!" Both Yuri and Yugo yelled, continuing to chase after their opponents even after their attacks were successful, "You're going down!" They yelled.

Meanwhile, Yuto clashed with Kachidoki in the air, electricity sparkling around Yuto as his fang clashed with Kachidoki's spear.

"Take this! **Rebellious Lightning Strike, DISOBEY!" **Yuto yelled, flying backward before charging at Kachidoki again.

"**Victory Star Thrust!" **Kachidoki yelled, his spear glowing with yellow and purple energy as he met Yuto with his own attack.

Electricity and energy flew around them as they clashed, Yuto pushed harder, starting to push the spear back towards Kachidoki.

Suddenly, a pang of pain shot through him, originating from his side, he faltered for a single moment.

Kachidoki grinned, "As I said, you're WEAK!" He yelled, thrusting his spear harder and blasting Yuto away from him.

"Agh…! My injuries…!?" Yuto yelled as he began to fall to the ground, he quickly righted himself and attempted to fly back towards him.

Another pang of pain from his side, "Gah…!" Yuto grunted, clutching his side tightly, "Not… not now…!" He grunted, he looked up and saw that Kachidoki was gone.

"You're wide open…"

He heard the voice from behind him, he whipped around to face it, only just managing to catch Kachidoki in his eyesight again.

"It's over! Now fall!" Kachidoki yelled as he thrust a glowing spear straight at Yuto before he could react, in an instant he was blasted straight towards the ground.

"Yuto!" Yuya yelled, a worried look etching itself onto his face.

"What…?" Ruri said with a hand up to her mouth, "Yuto wouldn't go down that easily… what happened?" She said with a worried expression.

Yuzu slowly started to walk away.

"Yuzu… didn't you treat their injuries?" Ruri asked.

"I… may have been warped away before I could get to Yuto…" She said sheepishly.

"So Yuto is fighting while already damaged… but Yuya looks fine…" Serena pointed out, she grinned at the pink-haired girl, "Looks like someone ended up ignored while the other was completely doted on…" She said teasingly.

Yuzu tried to find an excuse, unfortunately, she couldn't find one.

Yuto's transformation came undone, leaving him lying in the middle of a large crater, defenseless.

Kachidoki landed in front of him with a loud thud, a spear was suddenly thrust into the ground near his head, causing Yuto to flinch.

"A weakling like you never had a chance anyway…" He said while staring directly into Yuto's eyes.

"Stargazer!" Yuya yelled as he transformed into Odd-Eyes, he tossed the orb into the magician's arms, "Timegazer! Let's go!" He yelled as Timegazer also appeared next to him, both he and Timegazer charged at Kachidoki (leaving Stargazer with the orb).

"Get away from him!" Yuya yelled, "**Spiral Flame Strike!" **He shot a stream of flames at him as he charged toward him.

Kachidoki jumped away just in time to avoid the attack, Yuya however, wouldn't have it.

"Timegazer! **Inverse Gears!" **He yelled. Timegazer placed his hands around the large yellow gear around him, purple energy flowed and time began to move backward.

"W-What!?" Kachidoki yelled as his body moved on its own, though only he, Yuto, and Yuya were aware of it, the stream of fire started to move backward and Kachidoki moved back into the place where he was standing before.

Time finally returned to normal, and Kachidoki found himself once again in front of the stream of fire.

"Shit…!" He yelled, attempting to dodge again, but ended up grazed by the attack due to being caught off guard.

"Alright!" Yuya exclaimed in celebration, Kachidoki gritted his teeth in anger, "That power… is annoying!" He yelled, throwing his spear directly at the black-robed magician.

"Timegazer! Loo-" Yuya started to yell, but the spear pierced straight through the magician anyways. "Timegazer!" Yuya yelled, Timegazer gave Yuya an apologetic look before glowing and disappearing, fading back into Yuya.

"_I can't bring him out… so this is what happens when a Pendulum Spirit is defeated…" _Yuya thought as he attempted to call Timegazer out again, it seemed that Timegazer was now in a sort of "recharging" state.

The spear landed in the ground nearby, before disappearing and reappearing in Kachidoki hand.

"In that case…!" Yuya yelled, reverting back to normal and calling Odd-Eyes back out as a spirit, a purple card appeared in his hand as he ran forward. "Come forth! Dragon with Mysterious Powers! _Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" _He yelled as he was surrounded in purple light.

He let out a loud roar as he emerged as his new Fusion Monster, Odd-Eyes ran up next to him and roared alongside him.

"That's Yuya's fusion monster…" Yuzu muttered, looking at the form in amazement, "Impressive…" Serena said.

"Take this! **Unending Shining Burst!" **He yelled as the ring on his back glowing with white energy, multiple streams of energy were shot at Kachidoki, Odd-Eyes joined in by attacking with his own fire breath.

"I will not lose!" Kachidoki yelled as he spun the spear in his hand, "Why? Because…" He said as the attacks began to reach him, his spear glowed as he readied it in his hand, "You're WEAK!" He yelled, thrusting the spear and blasting the attack away in a single instant.

"What!?" Yuya yelled, the attack was canceled out in a single move, just how much power did this guy have!?

"Again!" Yuya yelled, Odd-Eyes roared in agreement, "**Unending Shining Burst!" **Yuya yelled, firing a single large stream of light at Kachidoki, Odd-Eyes sent its own Spiral Flame Strike along with it, the two attacks merged together and flew towards Kachidoki.

"As I said before… you're WEAK!" Kachidoki yelled, thrusting the spear into the attack again, instead of canceling it out this time, the attack flew in many different directions around Kachidoki as his spear met the attack, but none of it hit Kachidoki.

"You're the one… that I want to beat down the most!" Kachidoki yelled as the attack died down, he charged at the two dragons with his spear raised in the air.

"Crap…!" Yuya yelled. Before he could respond, however, Kachidoki swung his spear and knocked Odd-Eyes away from him, before pointing his spear directly at Yuya.

"Take this! **Victory Star Thrust!" **He yelled, thrusting his spear directly at Rune-Eyes' chest.

In a single moment, both Yuya and Odd-Eyes ended up being blasted away, "GAAAAAAH!" Yuya yelled as he crashed into the ground.

Stargazer placed the orb on the ground and flew towards him, before the same spear that defeated Timegazer was thrown directly at him, piercing through him and defeating him as well.

"Stargazer!" Yuya yelled as he felt the magician return to him, he could feel that Odd-Eyes was still good to fight, but other than that, his only other spirit was Trump Witch, and he could feel that in a fight, she wouldn't be much help.

"It's over, you've lost…" Kachidoki said as he walked over to him, "Your power as that Fusion Monster is great, however something like that is easy for me to deal with…" He explained.

"Yu… Ya…!" Yuto grunted, both Yugo and Yuri were occupied with their own opponents, and at this point, he was unable to transform.

"Now… it's over…" Kachidoki said, raising his spear and pointing it at him, readying to finish him off.

"_Crap… is there nothing I can do…!" _Yuya thought frantically, the spear that Kachidoki was using was capable of canceling out the energy from Rune-Eyes' attacks, as well as defeating his magicians in a single attack, it was likely that he had an advantage over magic-based monsters.

"Now… fall!" Kachidoki yelled, raising his spear to finish him off.

"Not… not yet!" Yuya yelled though he could do nothing, "Not yet!" He yelled.

Suddenly a red and green light flashed from behind Kachidoki, and something struck him from behind.

"Agh…!" Kachidoki yelled as he was knocked off balance, Yuya saw a chance.

"Take this!" Yuya yelled, swinging his tail and knocking Kachidoki away from him.

"What…!" Kachidoki yelled as he was knocked to the ground, Yuya stood up quickly, the ring on his back glowing again. "**Unending Shining Burst!" **He yelled, firing a single beam of light at him, Kachidoki was unable to block and was blasted away from him.

Yuya breathed hard as he fell onto one knee and reverted back to his normal form, he looked around for whatever had saved him.

Eventually, he laid his eyes on a silver dog-no, it was a wolf, a silver wolf wearing a polka-dot bow-tie and a big, doglike smile.

Its tail wagged happily as though it was expecting praise, "Who… who are you…?" He asked.

"_What, you aren't gonna name him yourself?" _Said a voice in his head, he recognized it immediately, "Trump Witch?" He said softly, as he said this, the young girl appeared in the air in front of him with a large grin.

"Well, I guess he _does _already have a name…" She said to herself, "I guess I'll be the one who explains these things to you!" She said cheerfully, "This boy's name is Performapal Silver Claw! And he's _such a good boy!" _She said as she scratched him behind the ear, despite being a wolf, he was very doglike as his tail wagged rapidly from the ear-scratch.

"Silver… Claw…" Yuya muttered, Trump Witch grinned, "Yup! Now have fun! I may be brilliant, but I'm not fighting _that _guy!" She said as she pointed at Kachidoki, she faded into light and disappeared.

"Silver Claw… huh…" Yuya muttered, he patted the wolf on the head, earning a happy whine, Odd-Eyes suddenly appeared next to him again, he looked battered up, but he was apparently ready to fight.

"Alright… then let's do this!" Yuya yelled as he transformed back into Rune-Eyes, "Let's go!" Yuya yelled, charging towards Kachidoki with Silver Claw and Odd-Eyes at his side.

"_I don't have enough power right now to break through Kachidoki's own power…" _Yuya thought, "_So I'll overwhelm him with numbers!" _He thought, in an instant, Kachidoki was surrounded by Yuya and his spirits.

"Do it!" Yuya yelled, Odd-Eyes fired flames at Kachidoki while Yuya sent multiple blasts of light towards Kachidoki, Silver Claw ran around him, making quick attacks before retreating a few feet.

"Damn you… know when to quit, will you!" Kachidoki yelled as he blocked a stream of flames from Odd-Eyes, except allowing himself in the process to take hits from Yuya's attacks.

"Damn it… THAT'S ENOUGH!" Kachidoki yelled, his body now surrounded by dark energy, "Crap…!" Yuya yelled, quickly attempting to jump backward.

"I'm ending this NOW!" He yelled, suddenly moving directly to Odd-Eyes in an instant and thrusting his spear into the dragon, the dragon roared in pain before dissipating into light.

"Odd-Eyes!" Yuya yelled before Kachidoki suddenly appeared in front of him and did the same to him, unlike Odd-Eyes, the spear didn't pierce through him, but it did knock him a fair distance away.

Yuya crashed into the ground again, he quickly got back onto his feet despite his body telling him to just stay down, he heard a loud yelp and saw Silver Claw flying towards him, also crashing into the ground next to him.

"Crap…! He's strong…!" Yuya said to himself, unlike his lackeys, it looked like this guy was actually going to be a bit of a problem.

He saw Kachidoki walking towards him again, the dark energy was gone and he was breathing hard. "Well, at least I don't have to deal with that again…" Yuya said to himself, even if Yuto wasn't injured, even he would have trouble dealing with this guy.

"_Well would you look at that, I guess I still need to help out!" _

Yuya chuckled, "Hey, Trump Witch…" He said as the small girl floated in front of him.

"Luckily for you, it looks like I can actually work with this…" She said, staring at both him and Silver Claw.

Trump Girl stared at them for a bit before grinning giddily, "Alright then! Let's do this!" She said happily, taking out her staff and holding it up.

Her staff glowed and a purple orb of energy flew out of Yuya's chest, a similar orb of red and green flew out of Silver Claw.

The two orbs began to swirl together into a whirlpool of color, _**"Prideful silver wolf. Become one with the Arcane Dragon, and reveal to us your new power!"**_ She yelled, raising her hands and cupping them around the whirlpool of color.

She brought her hands down in front of her, "_**Fusion! Come forth! The ferocious dragon with luminous feral eyes! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" **_She yelled, a burst of purple light shone from within her hands, a powerful roar echoed from within it.

She opened her hands, and a purple card emerged from it, floating towards Yuya.

Trump Witch yawned, "Two fusions in one day! I must really be something special!" She said pridefully, "I'd tell you to call on me if you need me, but I need a nap! See ya!" She said, disappearing into light.

"Heh… alright then…" Yuya muttered, he saw Kachidoki charging at him now, "Go down already!" He yelled, throwing his spear at him.

The large spear crashed into the ground near him, "Yuya!" Yuto yelled as he struggled to his feet.

Suddenly, a flash of purple light blasted through the smoke caused by the spear, a loud and bestial roar echoed through the area.

Yuri looked up from pummeling his opponent when he heard it, as did Yugo. "The hell was that?" Yuri said curiously, dropping his opponent to the ground.

"Hey, Yuri!" Yugo yelled after also dropping his defeated opponent, "The hell was that?" He asked.

"How would I know? I've been kicking this guy's ass this whole time!" He yelled back, "Should we go check it out?" Yugo yelled.

"Later!" Yuri yelled, "I'm not done beating this guy into submission!" He yelled casually.

* * *

"What… the hell!?" Kachidoki said as he stared at Yuya's new form.

His right eye was yellow, and his left eye still the same shade of green, he seemed to be covered in fossil and bone-like armor, and he growled ferociously.

In his mouth was Kachidoki's spear, Yuya suddenly started grunting as he tightened his hold on the spear before it suddenly broke into pieces, Kachidoki was speechless.

"The hell…" Kachidoki muttered, "You can't be serious… my spear has never been broken before…" He said, even though it was broken, it was a simple matter of holding out his hand and having a new one manifest in his hand.

But still, it had _never _been broken before, yet he just saw the damn thing be crushed in the jaw of whatever new form Yuya had now taken.

Yuya roared again before charging at him, "Damn you… this changes nothing!" He yelled, charging at him as well.

They clashed, Yuya's eyes staring directly into his, it seemed like an even fight.

Kachidoki suddenly felt his hold on the ground weakening, he was being pushed back by Yuya's charge alone. "T-The hell!? What kind of power is this…!" He yelled, Yuya roared and opened his mouth, the blue orb on his chest glowed with orange light.

Yuya suddenly twisted around and smacked him away with his tail, despite Kachidoki's efforts to block, the sheer power from his tail blasted him away with no regard for whatever defense he might've had.

Yuya jumped into the air as he crashed into the ground, orange flames building in his mouth.

"Take this!" Yuya yelled, "**Hell Dive Burst!" **He yelled, shooting a large stream of flames at Kachidoki, the front of the flames changed to match the shape of Beast-Eyes' head, roaring as it descended on his opponent.

"Crap…!" Kachidoki grunted, his spear glowed again as he met the attack with his own, "**Victory Star Thrust!" **He yelled, his attack clashing with Yuya's.

"This… this is nothing!" Kachidoki yelled, putting more power into his attack before he suddenly felt his attack being pushed back. "W-what!?" Kachidoki yelled. The power in the attack seemed to increase in power as he clashed against it.

"Another fusion monster…" Yuzu muttered, "Yuya's getting stronger…" she muttered, she looked at her sisters, Ruri could use Xyz Monsters, Rin could use Synchro Monsters, and Serena could use Fusion Monsters, meanwhile she…

Standard Monsters aren't necessarily _weak_, take Kaiba and his Blue Eyes' for example.

But she couldn't help but feel like she was being… left behind.

"Crap… stay back!" Kachidoki yelled to no avail, his spear suddenly shattered again, time seemed to slow down as he stared at the pieces of the spear floating in the air, the flames slowly moving forward towards him.

"_Am I… losing…?"_ Kachidoki thought, "_No… I can't lose…!" _He thought, "_Not to him… not to him!" _He yelled, "_Not to anyone… no…!" _He thought as a glowing tattoo started to creep up his neck, attempting to reach his face.

Meanwhile, the Doctor started to grin widely, Atem noticed and glanced at him curiously, the Doctor continued to grin.

The flames finally reached Kachidoki, blasting him far away, his transformation began to dissipate as he flew through the air.

Yuya reverted back to normal, "Incredible…" He muttered, "Beast-Eyes is slow… but he's powerful" He said in awe of what he had just done.

He suddenly remembered his goal, "Oh crap, the orb!" He yelled. Silver Claw (who was still out) ran up next to him, "Silver Claw! Let's go!" He yelled, quickly jumping on the wolf and mounting him, Silver Claw took off at max-speed.

Kachidoki gritted his teeth, the glowing tattoo slowly making its way onto his face. "No…" He grunted, "I can't lose… I won't lose…!" He said aloud, he started to scream as the tattoo continued to stretch onto his face.

Yuto watched Yuya grab the orb from where he'd left it and quickly turn around, running towards the podium, he grinned, "Sorry, I wasn't too helpful, was I?" He muttered as he ran past.

Yugo and Yuri flew down next to him, "Whoa… looks like you had a rough time…" Yugo said.

"_Wow_ Yuto!" Yuri started to say mockingly, "I think I've lost _any and all faith in you!" _He said mockingly, Yuto groaned as he realized what Yuri was doing.

"You're gonna need to work hard in order to _redeem yourself!" _He said as Yuto closed his eyes and groaned louder, "I get it, I get it…" He said calmly, "I was also defeated easily, are we even now?" He asked.

"Oh, I dunno… are we? Fusion?" Yugo asked.

"Hm… I wonder…" Yugo said with a similar grin, "Also it's Yugo, not Fusion, you pompous purple bastard…" He pointed out.

"Oh shut up you two…" Yuto muttered, his brothers snickered.

Suddenly a burst of dark energy erupted from the ground nearby, Yuto turned and stared at the pillar of energy, his brothers did the same.

"…If Yuya gets to the podium, we don't have to deal with that, right?" Yugo asked.

"Yeah… which is why…" Yuri muttered, he quickly turned around and yelled, "Yuya! Stop! I wanna kick this guy's ass before we go!" He yelled.

"Wai-NO! KEEP GOING!" Yugo yelled back frantically.

Not that Yuya could even hear them from the distance he was at now anyway.

"Well…" Yuto muttered, "I hope you two aren't gonna let your injured brother fight that, are you?" He asked.

"Wow, what an unreliable big brother…" Yuri said teasingly.

"Oh don't you start…" Yuto shot back.

Suddenly they saw Kachidoki floating inside the pillar of energy, the glowing tattoo was now completely stretched to cover his face, and his face was also contorted in pain and anger.

"I will not lose…" He muttered, "I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU!" He yelled loudly.

"Wow, someone's a sore loser…" Yuri muttered.

A purple card appeared in front of him, however, dark and sinister energy glowed around its purple glow.

"Guide me to victory… and send these fools to their rightful place… beneath me!" He yelled, "**Destroy them, Shura the Supremacy Star!" **He yelled, the energy surrounding him increasing in size.

Silver Claw suddenly stopped, its eyes were widened in fear and it hadn't even looked at Kachidoki yet.

Yuya stared at the pillar of sinister energy in shock.

"Just what…" He said.

"_Is that…" _Thought everyone else.

The Doctor continued to grin giddily, before breaking into a burst of maniacal laughter, Atem stared at him with widened eyes.

"Is… is this your doing!?" He exclaimed.

No answer was given to him, instead, the Doctor continued to laugh as the sky darkened with black clouds.

**Shorter chapter than last time, but I'm proud of it, nobody shall ever say I publish short chapters that leave you unsatisfied.**

**I **_**WILL, however,**_ **make cliffhangers because I can.**

**I also had a surprising amount of free time amidst school and trying out Joker in smash, so that's cool.**

**Also, the Arc-V manga ended, my thoughts?**

"**Do I love it!? Do I hate it!? Is it both!? WHAT THE FU-"**

**Yeah, so that's fun.**

**Anyways, I'll see you next time! The fun is just getting started!**


	10. Chapter 10: The Pendulum Swings Again

**The reason why these chapters are more frequent right now is because of the fact I actually KNOW what I'm doing.**

**I swear to god, most of the time I spend in between these chapters is me trying to figure out how I piece certain characters into the story to match the plan I already have, mostly because I forget about those little snippets of the story during the planning.**

**Just you wait, this writing fever is gonna end someday, and yall will be stuck waiting for a while in between chapters again, sorry!**

**Another thing… for some reason, I now have the image of all of Arc V's characters in an Arc V version for the opening of Nichijou - My Ordinary Life.**

**You all can think of that now as well.**

**Melodious: That's… adorable…**

**Chapter 10: The Pendulum Swings Again**

"Silver Claw! Run!" Yuya yelled, the wolf, however, was completely frozen in place.

Suddenly, a large purple spear with three spikes on the end was hurled at him and Silver Claw, it crashed into the ground with an explosion of dark energy, the sound of Silver Claw's yelp echoed in Yuya's ears as his last spirit was defeated.

Yuya was blown back, the orb knocked out of his hands and landing on the ground near him. The spear floated into the air and flew back towards where it had been thrown from.

The pillar of dark energy had faded from existence, in its place was a warrior wearing dark red armor, a little black mixed in as well. A dark purple aura seemed to constantly surround it, and it seemed to wear two masks above a mask it already wore.

Kachidoki screamed in what seemed like a mix of rage and pain, "The hell…" Yugo muttered, "This guy actually seems pretty strong… unlike his lackeys…" He said.

"I wanna kick his ass…" Yuri muttered, "Uhh, injured guy here!" Yuto yelled, "I'd like to just pass already!" He yelled.

"All of you… I will make sure…" Kachidoki said as he clutched the spear in his hand tightly, "THAT YOU ALL LOSE!" He screamed, charging at the three brothers.

"Aw shit…" Yuri muttered as he and his brothers glowed, "Here we go again…" He said as they each flashed purple, white, and blue.

All three dragons clashed together against the large warrior, they grunted as they struggled to keep him in place.

"O-okay…" Yuri grunted, "So he's got a lot of power… big deal…!" He said as the sounds of grunts filled the air.

"Damn it… Wait, Yuto, you're injured! Why are you…!" Yugo started to yell, "FORGET THAT, DO SOMETHING!" Yuto yelled as his body screamed in pain.

Yugo, who was in the center, started to be surrounded by gusts of green wind as they pushed, Yuto sparked with purple electricity while Yuri sparked with yellow electricity.

"I'll be using the power I stole from your friend…!" Yuri yelled as he and Yuto sent electricity through Kachidoki, Yugo yelling all the while as he started to push Kachidoki back.

"All of you… AREN'T WORTHY OF THE HONOR OF BEING A WINNER!" Kachidoki yelled as he smacked all of them away with a swing of his spear.

"GAAH!" They all yelled as they flew backward, Yugo quickly grabbed Yuto before he hit the ground while Yuri skidded against the ground.

"Damn y-" Yuri began to say before Kachidoki was suddenly behind him.

"Wha-"

"Die you BASTARD!" Kachidoki yelled as he struck Yuri with the front of his spear, blasting him far away, past Yuya even.

"G-GAKH…!" Yuri coughed out as he hit the ground, his transformation coming undone.

"Yuri!" Yugo yelled, "Damn y-" Yugo started to say before Kachidoki appeared behind him as well.

"Yugo look out!" Yuto yelled as he quickly shoved Yugo out of the way, "GO DOWN!" Kachidoki yelled as he struck Yuto with a series of thrusts that looked like a blur to everyone else.

Yuto's transformation came undone almost immediately, his eyes wide as he spat blood.

"Yuto!" Ruri yelled, standing up with eyes widened with fear.

"Get… the orb…!" Yuto spat out as he flew through the air, Yugo's face contorted with anger, "GOD DAMN IT!" He yelled, quickly turning around and flying towards the orb at full speed.

"Oh no, you don't!" Kachidoki yelled as he spun his spear in his hand before throwing it at the green-winged dragon.

"Oh _FUCK OFF!" _Yugo yelled, his usual filter on vulgarity turned off, "**DICHROIC MIRROR!" **He yelled as his wings glowed with blinding light.

He shot off a large beam of energy from his wings at the spear, only for the spear to tear through the attack with ease.

"Oh _FU-" _He started to yell before the spear crashed into him, Yugo was pretty sure he heard something crack inside him.

Yugo crashed into the ground below him as his transformation came undone, he was breathing frantically, though air felt like it wasn't entering his lungs, the air had been knocked out of him.

"YUGO!" Rin yelled Serena glanced at her for a moment with a knowing look before quickly turning her gaze away.

"Everyone…" Yuya muttered as he got up from the ground, he glanced behind him to see where the orb was, it was relatively near him, but he wasn't going to reach it before Kachidoki reached him, let alone get it to the pedestal.

On the bright side, Kachidoki has seemingly forgotten about the orb and was now completely focused on him and his brothers.

Bad news though, he was _completely focused on defeating him and his brothers._

"Oh FINE then…" Yuya said as he glowed a bright purple, "Come! Beast-Eyes!" He yelled, his yell slowly replaced itself with a powerful roar as his eyes glowed yellow and green.

"You…" Kachidoki said as his spear flew back to his hand, "I'll END YOU!" He yelled as he charged at him.

"**Hell Dive Burst!" **Yuya yelled, sending the same attack that had beaten Kachidoki earlier at him again.

Kachidoki screamed as he threw his spear at the attack, the spear covered in dark and rainbow energy.

The spear broke through the flames with ease, beating the attack in a single moment, "Wha-" Yuya started to say as his body instinctively moved to dodge…

The spear struck the right horn on his back, the spear bounced off of the horn the second it hit it.

Meanwhile, the horn cracked and broke clean in half.

"GAAAAAAAAAGH!" Yuya screamed in pain, apparently, it HURT LIKE HELL if one of his horns was broken.

His transformation came undone and he fell to the ground, the damage to his horn transferred to his arm and back, his right arm was covered in deep lacerations, and and the right side of his back was bleeding heavily, even his jacket-cape was gone, leaving the dark-red color of red to appear clearly on his shirt.

"YUYA!" Yuzu screamed, her eyes watery, and the only thing keeping the tears at bay was the amount of worry she felt as she looked at his injured form.

Yuya screamed in pain, he couldn't move his arm, heck, he could only feel pain from it, he couldn't feel the blades of grass on his arm as he fell over.

"_Great… not only have I lost all of the good feelings in my arm…" _Yuya thought in pain, "_I actually can't move it…" _He thought.

To make matters worse, the wounds that Yuzu had patched up were now starting to hurt again, anything that needed to be closed up was now opening again.

"Beast-Eyes… has the most power… out of all of my monsters…" Yuya muttered, "But it was nothing to him… what happened!?" He yelled.

He looked up at the form of Kachidoki's new form, he noticed that he was still screaming…

"GAAGH…" He yelled, clutching his arms as though he was in pain. "This is… this is nothing…!" He yelled, his spear flying back to him as he said that.

"Is… is your power hurting you!?" Yuya yelled. Kachidoki glared at him.

"What do YOU care!?" He yelled, readying his spear for another attack.

"That's dangerous! Stop!" Yuya yelled with genuine worry.

"No… not until I kick your ass so hard you'll never duel again!" He yelled as he charged at Yuya.

"Crap… Odd-Eyes!" Yuya yelled as he was surrounded in a red and green light, reappearing as his ace monster.

"W-Whoa…!" Yuya exclaimed as he started to fall to his left, the lack of weight on his right side (His horn was still broken, even as Odd-Eyes) causing him to stumble.

"Take this!" Kachidoki yelled as he attacked with a glowing spear.

His spear collided with the right horn on his head, it broke immediately.

"GAAGH!" Yuya yelled as pain shot through his body from his horn, "Damn it, Spiral Flame Strike!" Yuya yelled as he shot a burst of spiraling flames at Kachidoki.

The attack seemed to have little to no effect, the loss of his horn also meant the loss of some of the gems adorning his body, was that making his attacks weaker…?

"I'm ending this!" Kachidoki yelled as he spun the spear in his hand before smacking Yuya away again, this time in the direction of the podium.

The students screamed as they quickly moved away from the area where he was supposed to land before he crashed into an invisible barrier, something you could only go through if you were holding an orb.

"Yuya!" Yuzu yelled as she ran towards where he had landed, her sisters followed her.

She ended up running straight into the barrier that also kept all of the students inside, Yuya remained in the form of Odd-Eyes, but he was breathing hard.

"Yuya! Are you okay?" She asked frantically, her hands pressed up against the barrier as she looked at him with worry.

"Yeah… I'm fine…" Yuya groaned, "Just a mild concussion… wounds opening up… can't feel my arm… the usual…" He said sarcastically.

Yuzu let out a quick laugh as the tears finally fell down her cheeks, "Joking in a situation like this… idiot…" She said with a worried smile.

She suddenly looked past him with wide eyes, "YUYA LOOK OUT!" She screamed, Yuya looked back just in time to see a spear flying straight towards his face, he quickly returned to normal and just narrowly avoided having his skull crushed.

"Hey! Are you trying to kill him!?" Serena yelled, some students that had retreated about ten feet behind her yelled in agreement.

Kachidoki suddenly glared at all of them, everyone except Serena (who sent back an equally cold glare) either jumped back or nearly fell over.

Yuya clutched his head in pain, blood dripped down the right side of his face, as expected of head wounds which bleed _a freaking lot._

He felt dizzy as he stood back up, "Man… you can make clones as well?" He muttered, Yuzu gave him a look of concern, she held up five fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked.

"…I'd say about 15… but you don't have that many fingers…" He muttered as he stared at her, "Crap… my head really hurts…" he groaned.

The spear returned to Kachidoki hand again, he stared at Yuya coldly.

"I'm not done yet you FUCKER!" Yugo yelled, Yuya had the sudden urge to yell at him to watch his language, but he was too busy trying to NOT fall over.

Yugo had transformed back into Clear Wing and had wrapped his arms around Kachidoki from behind, he started to fly upwards before going backward straight in the direction of the ground, "GERMAN DRAGON SUPLEX!" He screamed.

Kachidoki broke free from his grip midair and smacked him away, he hit the barrier Yuya had smacked into nearby, he fell down and crashed into the ground again, turning back to normal.

He coughed as he sat back upright, "In hindsight…" He groaned, "I should've known that wouldn't have worked…" he muttered.

Yuto hadn't seen it, but he felt a sudden urge to smack his palm into his forehead in exasperation.

"Idiots… just like your father…" Kachidoki said angrily, Yugo promptly stuck his middle finger out at him.

A flash of purple shone from behind Kachidoki, he quickly turned around to see Yuri, now Starving Venom, fly at full speed and snatch the orb from the ground before quickly flying at full speed for the podium.

"Fuck this, I know when to dip out!" Yuri yelled as he flew towards the goal.

Kachidoki sighed before pointing his spear at Yuri and sending a blast of dark energy towards him, knocking him out of the sky. Yuri cursed the entire way, saying some things that _probably _shouldn't be told to children.

Kachidoki suddenly fell to his knee, "Crap… I can't keep this up much longer…" He muttered.

"_I need something that will let me beat this guy… or at least stall him until he can't keep the transformation up any longer…" _Yuya thought frantically, his thoughts suddenly shot towards the power he lost control of during his fight with Reiji.

Kachidoki turned to stare at him, the orb had been knocked further away from the goal after Yuri had been shot out of the air, it would be impossible to reach it without beating Kachidoki first.

"But… even if I use that power… I'm too injured to fight…" He muttered.

Suddenly, his pendulum started glowing and swinging on his neck, the glow started to spread from the pendulum and onto his entire body.

"Huh?" he said, he noticed that feeling was starting to return to his arm as the glow enveloped him, a pillar of blue light erupted underneath him, the dark clouds above him changed to blue, and a bright light seemed to glow from the area he stood under.

A large pendulum appeared above him, swinging back and forth above him as he continued to glow.

"What the hell are you… Oh no, you don't!" Kachidoki yelled, charging at him before being blown back by a wave of blue energy.

The pendulum above Yuya started to swing faster, glowing brightly above him as his wounds slowly started closing.

He suddenly saw his monsters in front of him, he was no longer on the battlefield, he was in the place where he had first met Odd-Eyes and his magicians.

Rune-Eyes, Beast-Eyes, Odd-Eyes, Stargazer, Timegazer, Trump Witch, Silver Claw.

They were all there.

"_**As the pioneer of the power you have dubbed Pendulum…" **_Said Stargazer.

"_**The power to rise up again and again, no matter the opponent, now lies within you…" **_Said Timegazer.

"_**Don't go using it all willy-nilly!" **_Said Trump Witch cheerfully, "_**You can't use it constantly, after all, it's got like, a cooldown, ya know?" **_She said, sounding awfully casual rather than the dignified tone Stargazer and Timegazer had.

Odd-Eyes, Rune-Eyes, Beast-Eyes, and Silver Claw each reared their heads and roared into the air (howled actually, in Silver Claw's case).

Light suddenly surrounded all of them, blinding Yuya.

When he opened his eyes, he was back on the battlefield, still glowing with blue light.

He placed his hands up to his chest, his pendulum still swinging.

"_**Eternal…" **_He began to say, "_**Pendulum!" **_He yelled as he raised a hand to the pendulum swinging above his head, a drop of light fell from the sky and landed in his hand.

In a single instant, all of his wounds were healed, his jacket-cape had even come back, heck, he looked as though he hadn't battled once the entire round.

If there was anything really, there was a single, though large, barely visible scar along the upper part of his arm where a particularly deep laceration had been.

The light finally faded, as well as the pendulum above his head, the dark clouds were beginning to part, allowing sunlight to break through the small openings available.

Yuzu stared at him in awe, "I… remember this…" She muttered, "On our first day… I thought you had died… but you completely recovered… and unlocked this new power…" She said softly.

That day replayed in her mind clearly.

_"Yuya..." Yuzu muttered as the giant beast lifted his club from the ground, the dragon was gone, Yuya had reverted back, his eyes were open, yet unmoving, she couldn't see his chest rise and fall as it should when somebody is breathing._

…

_Suddenly, a pillar of light exploded from the area where Yuya laid, sending a shockwave through the area, "Huh?" Said Ishijima, frozen in place as he stared at the pillar of light._

…

_Yuya slowly opened his eyes, "...Away from her..." He muttered, "Huh?" Said Ishijima, confused. "I said GET AWAY FROM HER!" He yelled, his eyes glowing. Yuya extended his hand, a glowing card materialized, floating in his palm, it glowed a bright red, before switching to green, to red, and to green again. "What the..." Said Ishijima, "What the hell kinda monster is that!?" He yelled, pointing at the card._

…

It was a day that she could never forget, partly because of the fear she had felt that day, but also because of the incredible sight she had seen that day.

It was ever since that day that her heart seemed to ache with longing every time she stared at him.

Her heart seemed to flutter every time she remembered his declaration that he would protect her.

It had started off as a small feeling, barely noticeable, but it had grown since then… she could feel it clearly in her heart.

Yuya had returned from the brink of death that day, and now, his wounds were completely healed, just like that first time.

"I don't know what you just did…" Kachidoki said, "BUT IT CHANGES NOTHING!" He yelled as he began to attack.

A flash of red and green light blinded everyone nearby, and Kachidoki was blown back again.

Around Yuya stood the figures of all of his Pendulum Monsters, he and all of his spirits glowed with a faint blue light.

"I've only ever been able to bring out two…" Yuya said, "Anything more than two is too hard to handle…" He said calmly.

"But… I don't feel that problem right now…" He explained, "And you're someone that I won't beat if I hold back!" He declared, Odd-Eyes roared as though to emphasize his point.

"…Wait, why am I here!? I can't fight!" Yelled Trump Witch frantically as she immediately mounted Silver Claw, the wolf didn't seem to mind carrying the young witch.

"Then BRING IT!" Kachidoki yelled. Yuya nodded, "Yeah… we're fighting… and you're incredibly strong…" Yuya responded, but he steeled his resolve and stared directly into his eyes.

"Look around… everyone watching us is afraid…" He said, "When my father dueled… the people who watched him smiled…" Yuya said with a calm smile.

He turned and looked at Yuzu.

"I'm not my dad… I'm probably not the best at entertaining a crowd… but…" He started to say as he and his spirits walked forward.

"So long as I can make one person smile… then I can make others smile as well!" He said confidently.

"SO WHAT!?" Kachidoki yelled, "THAT STYLE OF DUELING IS WEAK!" He yelled, "I'LL DEFEAT YOU, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!" He yelled as he charged at Yuya.

All of Yuya's spirits rushed forward to meet him, clashing with him intensely and only barely keeping him in place.

A spotlight suddenly shone on Yuya, a bright smile on his face. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" He yelled, "Behold! This fight shall finally reach its climax!" He said happily, "So without further ado… please welcome, _the Dragon with eyes of arcane power! Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" _He yelled.

Yuya was surrounded by purple light as he jumped in the air and transformed into Rune-Eyes again, letting out a roar that echoed in everyone's ears.

"Let's go, everyone!" Yuya yelled out, "**Unending Shining Burst!" **Yuya yelled, sending a seemingly endless number of beams towards Kachidoki, his spirits running alongside it.

"Just GIVE UP!" Kachidoki screamed, spinning his spear in his hand and blocking the beams of light with ease.

Suddenly, Silver Claw and Trump Witch appeared behind him.

Silver Claw growled as he bit down on Kachidoki armored arm, Trump Witch furiously smacked his head with her staff (to little avail, but hey, she's trying).

"You think something like this will stop me!?" Kachidoki yelled as he started to swing his arm to smack them away.

"Inverse Gears!" Yuya yelled, on command, Timegazer reversed time again.

"Not again…!" Kachidoki yelled as he prepared to react.

Silver Claw and Trump Witch were moved back to the position they were at before they jumped on him, Kachidoki immediately started to turn around to attack them.

Unfortunately, this caused him to lower his defenses against the beams of light, each beam of light converged into a single beam and struck Kachidoki right in the back.

"GAH!" Kachidoki yelled as he was caught off guard, he caught a glimpse of Stargazer hovering above him.

"**Horoscope Cutter!" **He yelled, sending multiple glowing razors at him, Kachidoki quickly raised his spear to block.

"Timegazer! **Time Freeze!" **Yuya yelled.

From Yuya's perspective, Kachidoki was suddenly knocked over by something he couldn't see, but from Timegazer's perspective, he had stopped time and blasted the frozen Kachidoki with an attack of his own.

This gave Stargazer's attack the opening it needed to smash right into Kachidoki's back as he was falling over.

"_Timegazer usually can't do that unless I've transformed into him…" _Yuya thought, "_But that thing I did… the thing that healed me…" _He thought, "_I'm overflowing with power… and so are they!" _He thought confidently.

"I'll make the most of this power boost!" Yuya yelled with a smile, "Come to the stage! _The dragon that rules above all predators! Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" _Yuya yelled, transforming from Rune-Eyes to Beast-Eyes.

"Let's go, Odd-Eyes!" Yuya yelled as the orb on his chest glowed orange, Odd-Eyes ran up next to him, the gems adorning the red dragon also glowing.

"Combined attack!" Yuya yelled as he and Odd-Eyes jumped into the air, "**Hellish Dive, Spiral Burst!" **He yelled as both he and Odd-Eyes released their attacks, the flames merged into one single attack.

The bright red flames changed to shape into the head of Odd-Eyes, before spinning around and heading straight for Kachidoki.

"Just DIE!" Kachidoki screamed, throwing a glowing spear at the flames, "**Pierce, Supremacy Spear!" **He yelled as his spear spun in the air as it clashed against the attack.

"But wait! There's more!" Yuya yelled excitedly, "Odd-Eyes' power is in this attack!" He yelled as the orbs on Odd-Eyes glowed even brighter.

"Go! **Reaction Force!" **He yelled as the flames doubled in size.

The spear was pushed back immediately, the attack crashed directly into Kachidoki with a huge explosion of color.

"Now for the big one!" Yuya yelled as he transformed back into himself, he jumped onto Odd-Eyes and disappeared, now transformed into Odd-Eyes rather than having him out as a spirit.

"Stargazer! Timegazer!" He yelled as he ran towards Kachidoki, the two magicians started to fly alongside him.

"Lend me your power!" He yelled, they glowed as his magicians raised their hands and sent a beam of light at the orb on Yuya's chest, Yuya started to glow a bright blue, his eyes glowing their respective colors as well.

He jumped into the air as flames formed in his mouth, "Take this! "**Spiral Flame Strike, Arc Burst!" **He yelled, firing a huge stream of spiraling flames, blue energy mixed along with it.

"No!" Kachidoki yelled as the attack approached him, "I WILL NOT LOOOOOOOOSE!" He screamed as dark energy erupted underneath him.

Then, everything went black.

Kachidoki's scream changed into a monstrous roar, the attack Yuya had fired at him crashed into him with a large explosion, but he seemed unfazed.

"Oh, _what now…" _Yuri groaned.

"Win… I will win…" Kachidoki growled, "That's… all that matters!" He roared.

"All who stand in the way of my victory… will PERISH!" He roared out, a wave of dark energy flew through the area, knocking down both Yuya and his spirits.

"Kachidoki!" Yuya yelled out as he was blown away, "Destroy everything…" Kachidoki growled as he pointed his spear towards the ground.

"_**Apocalypse Storm!" **_He screamed as he thrust the spear into the ground, dark and rainbow energy flowing around him.

The ground around him started to break apart, Yuya's brothers could see the ground glowing underneath them.

"Shit, EVERYONE MOVE!" Yugo yelled as he scrambled to his feet, as did Yuri and Yuto.

They quickly transformed and flew into the air, though Yuri had to help Yuto into the air first. "Crap, crap, crap…" Trump Witch exclaimed as she and Silver Claw were picked up by Stargazer and taken into the sky, Yuya quickly flew up as well with Timegazer at his side.

"You can't escape… IT ENDS HERE!" Kachidoki roared, the ground around him broke apart, and a seemingly infinite amount of black spikes burst out of the ground and homed in on the brothers and Yuya's spirits.

"**Dichroic Shower!" **Yugo yelled, his wings glowed bright green as he shot out a storm of green lasers in every direction to defend against the spikes, Yuto was forced to stay behind Yuri while Yuri fired streams of his own lasers.

"Everyone! Defend yourself!" Yuya yelled as he shifted into Rune-Eyes and fired a barrage of white lasers at the spikes coming towards him, Timegazer and Stargazer went back to back with Silver Claw and Trump Witch behind them as they attempted to push back the spikes with their power.

Every spike broke easily, but they kept regenerating and continuing their assault, Kachidoki screamed in pain as he channeled more power into the attack.

Yugo ran out of energy to fire lasers out and started to fly around in an attempt to avoid the attack, Yuri struggled to keep his attack going, visibly reaching his limit due to labored breathing and a drop in the ferocity of his attack.

"_This isn't good…" _Yuya thought frantically, "_It keeps coming… there's no end…!" _He panicked.

A spike struck Yugo's side as he flew through the air, he roared in pain as he lost height in the air, but he kept flying forward despite the injury.

His spirits were being pushed back, Timegazer had already stopped time twice in order to get some spikes that slipped past, and was looking exhausted.

"Is that power… the only way…?" Yuya grunted as the spikes continued to converge on him.

"I… I just need to control it this time, right!?" Yuya yelled, "Timegazer! **Inverse Gears!" **He yelled.

Time began to flow backward again, only he and people near him would be aware of time moving backward, and as of right now, nobody was near enough to him to realize what was happening.

While his body moved on its own, he reached into his mind, searching for the power he had lost control of.

He felt it, it crackled with power, it felt unstable, like a bomb that could go off at any moment.

"This power… I'll make it mine!" He yelled.

Time stopped reversing and returned to normal, Yuya's attacks stopped and the spikes converged on him freely.

"Yuya!" Yuto yelled.

"RAAAAAAAAGH!" Yuya yelled as he was surrounded in purple lightning, it sparked in every direction rapidly, the spikes around him couldn't get through.

His form changed, a large black mass started to take shape around him, forming a silhouette with two eyes that glowed bright, one red, and the other green.

It was bigger than anything else Yuya had, the electricity around him started to spark out of control, it was keeping him safe from the attacks, but at this rate, it would hit his spirits before it reached Kachidoki, who was below him.

"Damn it!" Yuya yelled as he struggled to keep the power at bay, a loud roar echoed through the area, originating from himself.

He had more control over it than the first time, but regardless, he couldn't keep it under control.

"_**Quite a sloppy way of controlling your power…"**_

Yuya's eyes opened wide with surprise when he heard the voice, he saw two figures floating in front of him.

"_**Oh hush, as if it's easy for someone to tame this amount of power without help!" **_Said another voice, it was feminine and kind, unlike the previous voice which was deep and harsh.

"_**So what? We now have to help him?" **_Asked the deeper voice.

"_**Well, why else did we come here?" **_Asked the feminine voice.

"_**Oh fine…" **_Said the deep voice, the two figures moved closer to him, Yuya could now make out what they looked like.

"_**My name is Xiangke Magician," **_Said the deep-voiced one, "_**The magician that controls destruction…" **_He explained, He held a large shield with long blades sticking out of the end, a sun painted on the shield, he wore armor that looked part-warrior and part-wizard, and a long cape of blue fur flapped behind him. Gems adorned his weapon in a zigzag pattern.

"_**My name is Xiangsheng Magician…" **_Said the feminine voiced one, "_**I am the magician of creation…" **_She explained, she wore pink and orange robes with pink ribbons floating around her, a white eyepatch covered her right eye, and she held a red bow with green gems on it in her arms.

"_**Tell us…" **_Said Xiangke, "_**Why do you desire this power…" **_He asked. Yuya grunted as he continued to struggle against the amount of power around him. "I need this power…" Yuya started to say, "Because I need to be stronger…" He said, "To protect the people I love… to help people in need…" he explained.

"Right now…" He said, "I need it to save my brothers… to win this tournament…" he said, "and to save Kachidoki…" he explained, Xiangke raised an eyebrow.

"_**Save him?" **_Xiangke said, "_**He is your enemy, why do you wish to save him? And from what?" **_He asked.

"That power he's using…" Yuya explained, "It's hurting him… he's hurting himself just so he can win!" He said angrily, "I can't let someone suffer like that…" He grunted as the power fluctuated again.

Xiangke scoffed, "_**Too kind… soft and naive…" **_He grunted, Yuya gritted his teeth.

"…_**Interesting… very well, our power is now yours!" **_He said suddenly with a huge grin, "Huh!?" Yuya exclaimed in surprise, Xiangsheng giggled.

"_**This power is immense… but the reason you cannot control it is because of its instability…"**_ Xiangke explained as he and Xiangsheng moved into positions opposite of each other, Yuya in the center.

"_**Therefore, we shall make it calm down…" **_Xiangsheng said as she raised her bow, a glowing arrow notched in it, "_**A bit more convenient than just forcing it into submission with sheer willpower, no?" **_She said with a giggle.

The gems on Xiangke's staff glowed, small white orbs flew from them and began to move rapidly in circles and lines, creating the shape of a circle with a ten-pointed star in the center. From the circle, three large orbs of light shot from it, converging into a single orb before striking Yuya directly in the chest.

There was a flash of light, and Yuya found that he was suddenly transformed into Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, the electricity that crackled around him suddenly shot towards Kachidoki, striking him with a huge blast of lightning.

"Gack…!" Kachidoki grunted, the spikes that had been chasing after Yuya's brothers and spirits suddenly stopped in their tracks, purple electricity visibly sparking through every single one of them.

Blue energy suddenly started to flow out from the gems adorning his body, it converged above him before taking a shape.

"That's…" Yuri muttered.

"Dark Rebellion!" Yuto yelled.

There was now a slightly transparent, blue version of Dark Rebellion hovering beside Yuya, it stared directly into Yuya's eyes.

"_**And now…" **_Xiangke said, letting loose the red-glowing arrow directly at a spot between Yuya and the projection of Dark Rebellion.

It exploded between them, a red sphere expanded around them, Yuya's body was caked with the red energy, while purple energy started to surround the projection of Dark Rebellion.

The projection roared into the air before flying upward, it then did a flip before diving directly at Yuya.

"Whoa!" Yuya yelled out as the projection crashed into him, shattering as it made contact with him, and the pieces flowing directly into the orb in Yuya's chest.

Yuya's transformation suddenly came undone, but he remained suspended in the air, a glowing card appeared in front of him.

"Is that…!" Atem muttered, he saw all of the audience members stand up in shock as well.

The card glowed blue, before glowing green, and then glowing blue once more, alternating between the two colors consistently.

Reiji felt himself begin to smile, he chuckled to himself.

"So you've found it…" He muttered as he adjusted his glasses, "The potential of Pendulum…" He muttered, a smile adorning his usually stoic face.

Yuya didn't hesitate, he nodded at the two magicians, they nodded back.

He grasped the card in his hand, blue and green ribbons of energy surrounding him.

"_**Dragon of Dual-Colored eyes…" **_He said as his pendulum swung on his chest, "_**Eradicate all enemies who oppose you with your scale of wrath!" **_He yelled.

"Damn Yuya…" Yugo muttered as he struggled to remain in the air, "For the youngest of us all… you're pretty incredible…!" He said with a wide grin.

"_**XYZ CREATION!" **_He yelled as his body started to change, "_**Descend now! Dragon with eyes of pure rage!" **_He yelled, "_**The Supreme King Black Dragon! ODD-EYES REBELLION DRAGON!" **_He yelled as black winds started to swirl around him as the light burst around him, revealing his new form.

A powerful shockwave echoed through the area, in Yuya's place now stood a dragon with deep black scales, some white scales mixed in as well, his eyes shone red on his right and green on his left. He had two fangs on his jaw similarly to Dark Rebellion, as well as large seemingly-mechanical wings.

The right side of his face was white while the other was a deep black, a deep blue gem on his forehead between both colors, glowing red lines ran along his body, prominently at the base of his wings, splashes of blue also existed on its arms and legs.

It had a long tail with two spikes at the end, and on both of its arms were fangs similar to what Dark Rebellion had.

Yuya reared his head and roared into the sky, the roar causing some to need to cover their ears as it echoed through the area, waves of dark energy shot from his mouth as he roared, the very ground seemed to shake when it roared.

As the waves of dark energy shot through the area, all of the spikes broke into dust and scattered into the wind, leaving Kachidoki standing amongst a large crater and nothing else.

"What the hell… WHY WON'T YOU JUST LOSE ALREADY!" He screamed angrily, Yuya stared directly into his eyes with his own.

"FINE THEN!" Kachidoki yelled, "ILL BEAT YOU DOWN AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES!" He screamed, jumping into the air with his spear in hand.

Kachidoki suddenly vanished and reappeared behind Yuya, Yugo started to say something to warn him.

"FALL!" Kachidoki roared as he swung the spear down on Yuya.

Suddenly, Yuya's arm found itself a grip on the spear.

"WHAT!?" Kachidoki yelled, Yuya had turned around immediately and caught the spear with ease, he attempted to pull the spear out of Yuya's grip, only to find that Yuya had an iron grip on the spear.

"I'll tell you this once…" Yuya said as Kachidoki struggled, "Surrender, that power is causing you to suffer!" He said angrily.

"NEVER!" Kachidoki yelled, "I will be VICTORIOUS!" He roared.

"Then I'll stop you!" Yuya yelled, yanking the spear towards him, Kachidoki was pulled forward and found himself face to face with a ball of purple energy growing in Yuya's mouth.

"Take this!" Yuya yelled as he fired a stream of spiraling purple energy, it blew Kachidoki away from him, taking his spear with him.

Kachidoki crashed into the ground, he quickly got up and growled.

Yuya flew down and charged at him, Kachidoki ran forward to meet him.

They clashed, Kachidoki blocking the two fangs on Yuya's jaw from striking him, the ground broke underneath them due to the power of the clash.

I'll end this now!" Yuya yelled, rearing his head and knocking Kachidoki away from him.

Yuya flew high into the air before flying backward, he turned and faced Kachidoki.

His wings opened up, and blades of purple blades of electric energy extended out, electricity sparkled around his body, the two fangs on his jaw glowed bright purple.

He did a flip in the air before plunging his glowing fangs into the ground, and then flying forward at full speed, his fangs tore through the earth with ease as he continued to advance at full speed, tearing through the earth as if it wasn't there.

"JUST DIE ALREADY!" Kachidoki roared, his spear glowing as he spun it in his hand, "**Supreme Shura Thrust!" **He roared, charging at the large black dragon at full force.

"_**IMPERIAL WRATH'S REVOLT, STRIKE DISOBEY!" **_Yuya yelled as he charged forward, he raised his head and reared it upwards as he approached Kachidoki, Kachidoki thrust his spear at full strength.

The two attacks clashed, the ground practically vanished underneath them while they clashed.

The spear creaked for a moment before it finally broke clean in half, "WHAT!?" Kachidoki yelled as he was blasted away with the full force of Yuya's attack.

"Amazing…" Yuto muttered, "Tch… stealing all the attention, is he?" Yuri muttered. Though he was grinning widely.

Kachidoki gritted his teeth as a new spear manifested in his hand, "Damn you…" He muttered, he gripped the spear in his hand tightly as his rage continued to build up.

"WHY CAN'T I WIN!?" He yelled angrily, "YOU JUST KEEP ON GETTING UP AND BEING A PAIN IN THE ASS, JUST GIVE UP ALREADY!" He yelled.

He was surrounded by even more dark energy, the spikes that had been chasing them started to appear from the ground again.

"He's getting stronger AGAIN!?" Yugo yelled, "Damn it, where's the damn orb!" He yelled as he looked around

It was right behind Kachidoki.

"OF COURSE THAT'S WHERE IT IS!" Yugo yelled angrily.

"Damn it, we have to finish this now…" Yuto muttered. Yuri nodded in agreement.

They all flew down next to Yuya, "We really need to end this…" Yuri said to Yuya, "Yeah… it's time that we finally give the audience the finale…" Yuya said in agreement.

His spirits appeared next to him, Odd-Eyes, Stargazer and Timegazer, Xiangke and Xiangsheng, and finally, Silver Claw and Trump Witch.

"We'll end this with a single attack!" Yuya said confidently, his brothers nodded.

Yuya suddenly appeared on top of Odd-Eyes Rebellion, he was an Xyz-Pendulum monster, after all, so he could also be deployed as a spirit.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Yuya yelled, "This is the moment you've all been waiting for!" He said with a smile.

"With this attack…" Yuto said while he rubbed the back of his head, blushing a bit.

"This damn fight…" Yuri said with a hint of annoyance and embarrassment.

"Will finally freaking end!" Yugo yelled with excitement.

"SHUT UP!" Kachidoki yelled, charging at the group.

"Let's go, everyone!" Yuya yelled as they started to charge forward.

All of Yuya's spirits glowed a variety of different colors, each flowing directly into Yuya's chest, Yuya roared as he felt power begin to run through him, the energy on his wings suddenly extended to become incredibly large, electric wings with three spikes on each wing.

His fangs glowed a bright purple as he charged forward, blue energy coating the rest of his body.

Yuto's entire body screamed at him to stop moving, but he mustered up whatever willpower he had left and forced his body to keep moving, his body sparked with electricity as he readied his own attack, "**Rebellious Lightning Strike, DISOBEY!" **He yelled as he charged alongside Yuya.

"**Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" **Yugo yelled, fighting through the pain in his side as he was surrounded by gusts of green wind as he charged forward.

Yuri remained behind them while he flew along, his wings spread out as he fired a large green beam from them, "**Starving Menace!" **He yelled.

Yuya's fangs glowed bright purple as he shoved them into the ground and began to tear through the earth, "**Imperial Wrath's Revolt, STRIKE DISOBEY!" **He yelled as he tore through the ground.

They charged forward, each yelling as they flew forward, their glows started to converge onto Yuya as they charged forward, white and black light surrounded his body as they charged forward.

"_**Supreme King's Imperial Wrath, STRIKE DISOBEY!" **_They all yelled, as their attacks converged into one as they charged forward, Yuya roared as they charged forward.

"**CURSE OF KAIKI!" **Kachidoki yelled as he charged forward with his spear, countless black spikes erupting from the ground and charging alongside him, "**APOCALYPSE CRASH!" **He finished as he charged.

Their attacks clashed, a pillar of white and black light erupted from the point of impact, They all rose into the air as they clashed, energy sparking in every direction.

They all yelled as their attacks clashed together, a bright blue light shone from Yuya's chest, enveloping everyone around them.

"You who has spent his entire life in the light…" Kachidoki muttered as they clashed, "You can never defeat someone like me… who has spent his entire life in the dark!"

Yuya grunted as he felt himself get pushed back, "You're wrong…!" He muttered, "My life… our lives…" He said in reference to his brothers, "Our lives haven't always been what we consider 'in the light' you know…!" He said as he pushed back.

"Like hell, they weren't! You don't know what it means to walk down a dark path with no hope of a better way…!" Kachidoki yelled back.

"We do!" Yuya returned as memories of a darker time shot through his head, "However, we were able to escape it…!" He grunted, "Because we had each other! We helped each other to stand until we were finally out of it!" He yelled as Kachidoki spear began to crack.

"SHUT UP!" Kachidoki screamed as he channeled all of his power into his attack.

"No! We recovered because we had someone to pull us out…!" Yuya returned, "We may not know what it is you've gone through… we don't know what your life has been…!" He yelled, "But what we can do… is extend a hand to help you…!" He said. Kachidoki gasped.

"But for now… we'll defeat you… and save you from that power…!" Yuya yelled as electricity sparked around him, they suddenly separated in a blast of energy, Yuya's body glowed black (among the purple electricity), three other glowing forms at his side and above him.

At his right was Yuri as Starving Venom, he was glowing completely purple, Yugo as Clear Wing flew above him, glowing completely green, Yuto was at his left side glowing completely blue.

"Let's go, everyone!" Yuya yelled, "Yeah!" His brothers yelled back in response as they charged forward again.

His brothers suddenly separated from him, flying forward as they glowed brightly, they rammed into Kachidoki numerous times before Yuya reached him and they clashed again.

They clashed multiple times, powerful shockwaves shooting through the area every time.

Yuya retreated backward for a moment, his brothers returned to his side as well.

Yuya was breathing fast, "Guys… my first time using this form is tough on me…" He gasped, "I can probably only keep this form up for another two minutes…" He wheezed.

"That's all we need! I have a plan!" Yugo replied, he quickly explained what he had in mind.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, let's do it…!" Yuri replied as they all grinned.

"Then let's do it! The final push!" Yuya yelled, they separated and charged again.

"Damn you…!" Kachidoki yelled as he fought off the forms of Yuya's brothers, they were all flying incredibly fast as they performed numerous hit-and-run attacks on him.

"Take this!" Yuya yelled as he crashed his fangs into Kachidoki spear, he yelled at the top of his lungs as he attempted the break the weapon.

"WRYYYAAAA!" Yuya yelled as he reared his head and finally shattered the spear again, Kachidoki grunted as he was blown back.

Yuya suddenly began to fall as he reverted back to normal, Kachidoki grinned, "You're out of energy! The fight is mine!" He yelled as he charged at him, he didn't have the energy to manifest another spear, but he could finish the fight without it.

"Oh really?" Yuya yelled back, Kachidoki suddenly felt a presence appear behind him.

He snapped around to see Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon floating there.

"Rebellion is a pendulum monster! He can be brought out as a spirit!" Yuya yelled with a grin, Kachidoki raised his arms and caught the glowing fangs that began to crash down on him, he grunted as he struggled to hold the fangs in place.

"But as a spirit… I can handle it…!" Kachidoki grunted confidently, gathering power in his leg and kicking the large dragon a few feet away, he prepared himself to attack again.

Suddenly, the black dragon disappeared.

He looked behind him, his eyes widening at what he saw.

All four brothers floated below him, including Yuya who was glowing red and green as he started to transform.

"Finish it, Odd-Eyes!" Yuya yelled as he transformed into Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon again, his body glowed bright red while the gems on his body glowed their respective colors, his brothers continued to glow as well.

"Crap…!" Kachidoki grunted. Red energy started to glow in Yuya's mouth, green energy in Yugo's, purple energy in Yuri's, and blue energy in Yuto's.

"EAT THIS!" They all yelled, each firing a stream of energy at Kachidoki, each attack swirled together into a single beam of energy.

"_**Four Heavenly Dragons! Spiraling Arc Stream!" **_They yelled as Kachidoki was blasted further into the air by the stream of colors.

"GYAAA!" Kachidoki yelled as he fought against the stream of energy, "This is… this is nothing…!" He grunted as he attempted to blow the attack away with raw power.

"Don't underestimate me…!" He yelled as his hands glowed with energy, he blasted away the stream of energies with a blast of his own.

He gasped for air, he had been blown up fairly high into the sky by the beam, but he could make out a single figure flying towards him.

"You've got this, Yuya!" Yugo yelled, he was flying towards Kachidoki at full speed with Yuya as his normal form riding on his back.

"GOD, You just won't lose!" Kachidoki yelled as he flew towards them.

"What can we say?" Yugo yelled back, "We're just a whole shit-ton of stubbornness!" Yugo yelled, "You can do it Yuya! Go get em!" He yelled as he did a barrel-roll and caught Yuya in a large hand.

"GO LONG!" Yugo yelled as he chucked Yuya towards Kachidoki as hard as he could.

"Stay with me a little longer!" Yuya yelled as he surrounded himself in a blue and green light, "_Supreme King Black Dragon! __**Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!" **_He yelled as he transformed into the large black dragon again, black winds flowing around him as his wings opened up and grew larger thanks to the purple electricity.

He felt his hold on the transformation falter momentarily, he wouldn't be able to keep the transformation up for much longer.

"THIS ENDS NOW!" Both Yuya and Kachidoki yelled as they clashed in midair, Yuya's fangs glowing bright purple and the rest of his body covered in a deep black miasma.

"GOOOO!" Yuya's brothers yelled as Yuya finally broke past Kachidoki, Yuya reared his head and finally struck the finishing blow.

"**Imperial Wrath's Revolt!" **Yuya yelled as he finally struck Kachidoki, "**STRIKE DISOBEY!" **He yelled as he finally blasted Kachidoki away.

Kachidoki's transformation finally dissipated, his glowing tattoo cracked before shattering and disappearing for good.

"I… lost…" Kachidoki muttered, he chuckled as a smile filled his face, the pain shooting through his body as a cost of using the power he was just using was completely gone.

"Heh… I feel… satisfied, somehow…" He muttered as he closed his eyes.

* * *

Yuya's transformation faded as he finally ended the fight, a glowing bubble appeared around Kachidoki and slowly descended him to the ground, meanwhile, Yugo flew up and caught Yuya before he could start falling.

"Yuya…" Yugo muttered as they started to float back down to the ground, "Slow down and let us catch up, damn it!" He said jokingly.

Yuya laughed, "Yeah, yeah…" He said as he relaxed in Yugo's large, dragon arms.

Yuto suddenly collapsed back into his human form, "Hurry up and get that _fucking _orb on the pedestal…" he grunted, "I want actual medical attention… please…" He groaned.

"Yugo can do it… I'm beat…" Yuri muttered as he laid down and turned back into a human as well.

"Lazy…" Yuto muttered.

"Useless…" Yuri muttered back.

"Fuck you…" Yuto muttered back.

Yugo flew over and picked up the orb, handing it to Yuya as they flew onto the pedestal, finally passing the round.

The orb vanished in Yuya's hands as Yugo transformed back, they both collapsed on the ground, Yuto and Yuri started glowing as they were lifted into the air.

"Fucking finally…" Yuto muttered.

"Aww, does Widdle-Yuto need a Bwan-Daid?" Yuri said in a mocking, baby voice.

"_No lunch for a week..." _Yuto said coldly.

"Shutting up now…" Yuri responded immediately.

"Yuya!" Yuzu yelled as she ran up to him, "Yugo!" Rin yelled as she ran closely behind her, their sisters couldn't keep the smirks and giggles down as they walked behind them.

"Yuya…! Are you okay? Please tell me you're alive…!" She said as she started to fuss over him on the ground, Yuya grinned, "I think I might be dying…" He said with a grin.

"Aha…" Yuzu blurted out as a smile popped onto her face, "You dummy… don't be so damn reckless…" She muttered as she hugged him.

"Yugo… your side…" Rin muttered. Yugo's side had a particularly nasty gash on it, probably thanks to the spikes from before.

"Oh… hey Rin…" Yugo muttered as he stared into her eyes, "It's nothing… I'm fine…" He muttered, Rin frowned and quickly took out a medium-sized pink handkerchief, quickly pressing it against the bleeding wound.

"Rin… don't…" Yugo muttered, "What? Don't stop you from bleeding out?" Rin said with a frown, "You can repay me later by washing this thoroughly before giving it back…" She muttered as she applied pressure to the wound.

"Rin, I… about that… well… _that_ time…" Yugo started to say, Rin looked at him.

"I'm… sorry…" He said with a blush on his face, Rin sighed and shook her head, "No… I'm sorry…" she said, "I… overreacted, and I shouldn't have been mad at you for so long…" She said as they stared into each other's eyes for a moment.

_Click! Click!_

Yuzu and Rin snapped their heads to the sound of what seemed like a camera clicking, they saw Ruri and Serena each taking a picture of the scene while smiling.

Their faces suddenly flushed, "A-AHHH!" They both screamed, Yuzu pulled out a large paper fan and smacked Yuya across the face with it, Rin suddenly let go of the handkerchief and sunk her fist deep into Yugo's stomach.

"ACK!" Yuya yelled as he felt the sting of Yuzu's fan run its way across his head.

"K-KOOOOHH…!" Yugo spat out as his face contorted with comedic pain as he felt pain shoot through him from his stomach, he quickly lost consciousness.

Yuzu and Rin suddenly realized what they had done and started panicking.

"A-AH! Yuya! I'm sorry!" Yuzu yelled out as she quickly started to fret over him.

"Y-YUGO! A-are you? Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Rin panicked as she quickly held the bloody handkerchief to Yugo's side again, despite Yugo now having completely lost consciousness.

Serena laughed loudly, "Oh, I am _so _posting this to my wall!" She cackled, Ruri smiled nervously behind her, "Sorry you two…!" She said with a kind smile.

Unfortunately for them, they got what was coming to them.

Suddenly, Yuto and Yuri appeared above them, immediately falling on top of them and bringing them both to the ground.

"Y-YURI!?" Serena yelled as the limp purple-headed boy laid on top of her with his head on her chest.

"Hmm… soft…" Yuri muttered with a blank face, Serena's face flushed.

"Why you…!" Serena started to yell as she started smacking his head, "Get off you heavy bastard!" She yelled angrily, Yuri's eye twitched.

"FUCK OFF, IM TRYING TO TAKE A NAP!" He yelled angrily.

"You are ON TOP OF ME, and YOU'RE HEAVY!" She yelled back.

"FUCK YOU!" Yuri returned.

"_EXCUSE ME!?" _Serena yelled back.

Meanwhile, Ruri…

"Y-Yuto…!" She gasped out as she felt his head rest in her own chest, her face was bright red, and her entire body had frozen up, "Y-You're o-on m-my chest…!" She squeaked out, her breathing was rapid, and her face red hot, her heart was pounding in her chest.

"Sorry…" Yuto muttered, his face was directly in her chest, so his speech was mostly muffled, "I actually can't move my body right now…" He said with a muffled voice, though nobody could see it, his face was red as well.

"H-Haaaaah…!" Ruri moaned as she resigned to her fate.

Suddenly, someone ran over while screaming insanely at a very high-pitch, something about "sisters".

As he got closer though, his screams became clearer, revealing to be…

"…_get the FUCK away from my sisters you little SHITS, or I swear to god, I'll rip out your spine and shove it…"_

You get the idea.

Kurosaki was running at top speed, he ran up and straight-up _kicked_ Yuri off of Serena's body while screaming wildly.

Yuri hit the ground with a thud and stared at Kurosaki with murderous intent, "You wanna die, dipshit?" He said menacingly, Shun replied with a prompt middle finger.

He then ran over to Ruri, "Ruri! Are you okay!?" He yelled, he then noticed Yuto on her, he quickly shoved him roughly off of her before asking, "Yuto! Are you alive?" With concern.

"That shove was a little too rough… but I'll live… maybe…" Yuto muttered, Shun nodded before sitting down and staring at Yuya and Yugo, who was being doted on by Yuzu and Rin.

Shun's face remained blank, "I don't like it… but fine…" He muttered to himself as he re-evaluated what he thought of the brothers.

Yuto: Trustworthy, obviously the most mature out of the four.

Yugo: Dumbass, but I'll tolerate him.

Yuri: Attempt-to-kill on sight, no exceptions, he seems like the kind of guy who'll give a child drugs and then smile about it.

Yuya: Obviously the purest of the four, I don't like him, but I'll allow him to come into contact with Yuzu at least…

Yuri was glaring at him, obviously plotting his later demise.

Suddenly, all four of the boys started to glow purple, they felt their wounds begin to repair themselves while they glowed.

"What's happening?" Yuya asked, "Once somebody comes in here, they start healing shortly after, probably thanks to them…" Yuzu replied, pointing above them at the two magicians floating around a purple magic-circle.

"Oh good… I can feel my ribs shifting back into place…" Yuto muttered.

"Quit exaggerating…" Yuri muttered back.

"I don't even know if I'm exaggerating at this point, everything hurts…" Yuto replied.

Yuya sighed, "We did it…" He muttered as he slowly drifted off into sleep.

* * *

"Mr. Sakaki…"

"Mmf… yeah…?" Yuya muttered as he slept, the wooden desk his head was laying on seemed awfully comfortable today…

"You need to wake up…" Said the ghostly voice, Yuya elected to ignore it.

He heard a sigh, and then he suddenly felt a presence by his face.

"Don't say I didn't try to help you…" the voice muttered before leaving him, Yuya smiled as he thought he could finally sleep.

He suddenly felt a fist plow into the top of his head, "AH! WHAT!? I'M UP!" He yelled out frantically.

A series of laughs echoed through the room, Yuya looked around frantically, realizing where exactly he was.

"Pay attention in class… young man…" Muttered the voice of a dark-green haired woman as she walked away from him.

"Yuya…" Yuzu muttered, she can't say she didn't expect this.

It had been a month since the first round of the tournament.

Apparently, it was because they needed to ready everything for the tournament, and allow the students to focus on their studies until the next phase of the tournament began.

Yuya was now sitting in class, having just been rudely awoken from sleeping in said-class.

"Are my classes really that boring?" Yuma asked with a fake pout, Astral (obviously the one who had tried to wake him up first) floating next to him.

"N-no sir…!" Yuya said frantically as he quickly sat up in his seat, the teacher's fake pout turned into a grin, "Alright then! Now as I was saying…" He started to say as he started to write things on the blackboard behind him, Yuya quickly started writing notes down to catch up.

* * *

"You can't keep falling asleep in class, Yuya!" Yuzu scolded as they left the room, Yuya chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry, sorry!" He said cheerfully.

Yuzu suddenly shushed him and pulled him against the wall, "H-Huh…!" Yuya started to say, Yuzu quickly shushed him again, "Quiet!" She hissed as she peered along the corner of the wall they were pressed against, Yuya curiously did the same.

"Hey… you're pretty cute… ya know that?" Said the voice of a boy with crazy brown hair, his hand was on the wall, pinning Rin to the wall without even touching her.

"Is Rin in a Wall-Slam confession?" Yuya muttered, Yuzu quickly shushed him.

"T-Thanks…" Rin replied nervously, "I… have to get to class…" she said as she attempted to escape the cheesy love-confession technique.

"I know, I know…" Said the brown-haired boy, Yuya noticed that he had a bamboo sword on his back, did he do Kendo?

"But come on… meet me after school?" He asked with a large grin, Rin's face was red as she attempted to find an opening to get away, "I-I… uh…" She stuttered as his face slowly moved closer to her, "Come on… I really like you, ya know…" He muttered while Rin's breathing quickened.

"OI! Get away from her!"

"Yaiba… what are you doing…"

The first voice was a loud one, a voice that Yuya and Yuzu quickly recognized as Yugo's voice, he was now running over with an angry expression on his face.

The second voice was a female one, as well as a voice that sounded _very tired_, her skin was dark, and her arms were crossed as she walked over to the brown-haired boy and started to pull him away by the ear, "Stop being a flirt and get to class before you end up late again…" she muttered.

"Yeah, you better run!" Yugo yelled as he ran up next to Rin, "Remember me! My name is Yaiba Todo! I'll be seeing you around, beautifu-" He yelled before he cried out in pain while being dragged past another corner.

"Man…" Yugo muttered as he crossed his arms, "What a cocky bastard!" Yugo said irritably, Rin slowly started to catch her breath.

"Is this the beginning of…" Yuya started to say.

"A love triangle…?" Yuzu finished.

**And it's done!**

**Man… I finished the first like, boss fight of this series, and I'm satisfied with that.**

**Anyways, I should probably rest my fingers from typing all the damn time… I'll see you next time!**

**The fun is just getting started!**


	11. Chapter 11: A Time of Poetic Love

**Just a reminder for everyone, this is a Romance/Fantasy fanfic, officially at least, and that's only because I can't fit in like, two more different genres apparently, because if I did, it would be a Romance/Fantasy/Action/Drama fanfic.**

**I need some fluff to recharge my batteries, okay?**

**Chapter 11: A Time of Poetic Love**

The next part of the tournament was set to happen at the start of the next semester, giving students time to focus on their studies, as well as be… well, students.

It was a time of peace.

"Synchro Monsters are the monsters of duelists with high willpower," Explained the teacher at the front of the class, he had black spikey hair with orange highlights, his assistant was a young woman with dark red hair.

His name was Yusei Fudo, the woman was Aki Izayoi, although, to the students, they were Mr. Fudo and Ms. Izayoi.

"At least, that's how it usually is," Yusei continued, "Synchro Monsters can also be created by utilizing the power of a Tuner monster, who can take the power of other monsters in the user's possession…" He explained, "and cultivating it into something new…" he finished.

"Any questions?" He asked the class, the hand of Yugo was the first one to hit the air.

"Yes, Mr. Sakaki?" Yusei said with a grin.

"Mr. Fudo, what about my situation?" Yugo asked, "I just, well, started with a Synchro Monster!" He said.

"Like every other monster," Yusei started to explain, "Synchro Monsters can sometimes come to a duelist simply because the monster's spirit likes that duelist," he explained.

"Huh…" Yugo said as he sat back down, "so Clear Wing came to me because she liked me…" He muttered to himself.

"Now, another thing about Synchro Monsters…" Yusei continued, "it was discovered that when transforming into a Synchro Monster that if you transform while moving at a high speed…" He said as he drew a monster on the whiteboard behind him with the word "Synchro" written on it, apparently moving at a high speed.

"There is a temporary boost in strength for that monster," Yusei explained, "It was called the Speed Boost, and was what inspired the creation of D-Wheels to give duelists an easy way to use this power!" He said with a grin.

"Can we see it?" Asked someone amidst the crowd of students, Yusei chuckled, "Perhaps another time, but for right now, I have assignments for you all…" Yusei replied as groans shot throughout the classroom, followed by even louder groans as Aki handed out papers.

Both Yuya and Soul were snapped awake by the girls beside them, "Huh!? What!? I was listening, I swear!" Yuya yelled quickly as Aki smiled at him, handing him a paper filled with questions he didn't know the answers to.

"You need to pay attention in class you know!" Yuzu scolded, Yuya immediately put his hands together and started to beg, "Please help me!" He begged as Yuzu felt her hand twitch for her paper fan.

"Fine…" She finally said with a sigh, earning a wide smile from Yuya.

"Soul, do you need any help?" Syrup asked as Soul glanced at his paper.

He yawned and picked up a pen, "Nah… I already know all this stuff anyway…" he said lazily as he started to answer the questions on the paper with ease, "Are… you sure?" Syrup asked with a look of concern.

She glanced at his paper, and surprisingly enough, they were all correctly answered, at least, that's what Syrup thought at least.

"Are you like, some sort of genius?" Syrup exclaimed.

Soul yawned as he flipped to the next page of the packet, "Call me whatever you want…" He said lazily, "but trust me, I'm not a genius…" He said as he started to answer the rest of the questions.

"A prodigy then?" Syrup asked while Soul yawned, "Hm… I guess…" He replied, "A lazy, idiotic, prodigy…" He muttered under his breath so that Syrup wouldn't hear him.

* * *

"Yuya Sakaki?" Said a voice from behind a door that read "Counsellor's Office"

Yuya stepped inside and nearly fell over when he saw who was at the desk, "H-Headmaster!?" He exclaimed as he saw the familiar spiky hair of Yugi Moto.

The young man chuckled, bags hung under his eyes, and a cup of coffee rested on the desk next to him, "Surprised to see me?" He asked, "Our current counselor is away, for now, her sister is apparently about to experience the miracle of childbirth!" He said with fake enthusiasm, he looked like he hadn't slept in a few days.

"I-I see…" Yuya said as he nervously sat down in front of him, "Are… are you okay?" He asked nervously.

"Hm? Of course? Why wouldn't I be?" Yugi replied with a smile that was clearly forced, "It's just three days of constant work and no sleep, especially since I now have to take over our counselor's duties…" He started to ramble, "But I'm _fine, _I've gone longer without any rest…!" He said as he held his coffee in one hand, he seemed to be gripping it tightly, as if trying to break it, as he took another sip.

Yuya stared at him.

"Listen, how about we focus on _your _problems, not MINE…" Yugi said with an eerily kind and happy tone, Yuya gulped and nodded his head.

"Now then, what seems to be the problem?" Yugi asked as he put the coffee cup up to his lips and emptied it, he then placed it back down on the desk and took out an energy drink as he put the mug into a coffee maker, making another cup of coffee for him.

"Well… you see, it's one of my monsters, sir…" Yuya began to explain, "I… I used it in the tournament?" Yuya explained.

"Ah yes, the black dragon right?" Yugi asked, "I watched the replay of the tournament, the Xyz Pendulum monster I presume?" He asked.

"Y-yes…" Yuya replied, "I… well, I haven't been able to use that monster ever since the tournament ended…" Yuya explained, "I know it's there… but I can't transform into it or even bring it out as a spirit…" Yuya continued.

"Well…" Yugi said as his head swayed ever so slightly, "There's a simple explanation for that…" he said.

"Really? What is it?" Yuya asked.

"You aren't strong enough for it yet!" Yugi said.

"Huh?" Yuya said in response.

"Let me put it for you this way…" Yugi continued, "Right now, that power will only come out if you really need it…" Yugi explained, "Such as when you are in danger, you're at your limit, or there is some other reason that the spirit determines to be a good reason to come out!" Yugi said as he drank some of the liquid in the energy drink.

"But… what about other times?" Yuya asked.

"Well, once you yourself have grown stronger, you will eventually be able to transform into that monster whenever you wish!" Yugi explained, "But as of right now, you are still just a freshman…" Yugi said as he stared into Yuya's eyes, even though Yugi's eyes were tired, Yuya could see a special kind of… glimmer within them.

"So all you need to do is continue to grow, learn, and become stronger…" Yugi said with a genuine smile, "now, is there anything else?" Yugi asked.

"No, thank you," Yuya said as he stood up, Yugi smiled, "good… now run along now…" Yugi said as he head suddenly fell and hit the desk he sat at, a loud snore shooting through the room.

Yuya noticed a blanket resting against the back of his chair and figured it was the right thing to do what he was thinking. He walked over and picked it up, throwing it over the unconscious headmaster's body.

He then quickly left the office while Yugi let out loud snores.

* * *

Xyz Monsters are pretty fickle…" Yuma explained to his class, "They aren't really 'created' exactly…" He said, "It's more like you take two powers from inside you… smack them on top of each other… and then hope that it's enough to summon a powerful spirit to you!" He said with a huge grin.

Everyone in the class collectively tilted their heads and said "Huh?"

Astral sighed, "I'll take over from here…" He said with an exasperated sigh, Xyz Monsters are a powerful type of monster with special abilities that are usually much stronger than other monsters…" Astral explained, "the cost of which usually means that those abilities require a cooldown after a certain amount of uses…" he said clearly.

"To obtain an Xyz Monster, you must have two or more monsters of similar strength…" Astral explained as Kotori drew two shapes with little angry eyes and a smile, as well as four stars above each of them.

"It's a complicated process, and difficult to explain with words…" Astral continued, "to put it bluntly, you Overlay those monsters together…" he explained.

Another collective "Huh?" Shot through the classroom.

Astral chuckled, "Yes, that doesn't make much sense, does it?" He asked, "It's different from fusing two powers together to make a fusion monster…" Astral continued, "Think of it like this… you place the two powers together inside an isolated area…" Astral explained while Kotori drew a strange swirly portal-like thing on the board.

"Then, you overlap the powers on top of each other… when done correctly, a powerful burst of energy should occur…" He explained, "Then, an Xyz Monster will either be created, or an Xyz Monster spirit will be drawn to you…" Astral said clearly.

There was no collective expression of confusion in the classroom this time around.

"It's strange, but it is what it is…" Astral said as he floated back down next to Yuma.

"Of course, however…" Yuma continued, "sometimes, like other monsters, an Xyz Monster will simply come to you because it likes you!" Yuma said with a large grin.

Yuto looked down at himself, "Is that why I have Dark Rebellion?" He muttered to himself.

* * *

Yuya and Yuzu exited their classroom, the day was almost over, with just one more class left to go through.

"Hey! Look at that!" Yuzu exclaimed, quickly running towards the opposite wall in their hallway, Yuya ran after her with a look of confusion.

He then saw what she had run towards, it was a large poster attached neatly to the wall.

"What's this?" Yuya asked as Yuzu stared at it, "It's a school play…" Yuzu said as they stared at it.

_UDA Fine Arts presents…_

_Romeo & Juliet_

_A tragedy of epic proportions!_

_Auditions this Friday at 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM!_

"Yuya!" Yuzu said with a bright smile on her face, "Auditions are today, and right after school!" She said giddily.

"You… wanna go to the auditions?" Yuya asked, "What character do you even want to play?" He asked.

"I dunno…" Yuzu replied as she took out her phone and snapped a picture of the poster, "But still, wouldn't it be fun?" She asked.

"I mean… yeah, it does actually look fun…" Yuya replied as he stared at the poster, "Do you wanna go?" He asked.

Yuzu nodded her head with excitement, Yuya grinned and took out his phone, "I'll let everyone else know, heck, they might even join us!" He said while Yuzu stared at the poster with a look of glee.

Entertaining WAS something Yuya wanted to do, so why not?

* * *

_**The Smile Crew**_

_PendulumPioneer: Hey guys! Check this out!_

_Pendulum Pioneer: __**[Image File]**_

_PurpleIdiot has joined the chatroom_

_PurpleIdiot has changed his name to Fusionisabitch_

_Fusionisabitch has changed the room name to __**Yugo is afraid of the dark**_

_Gottagofast ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ has joined the chatroom_

_Gottagofast ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ has changed Fusionisabitch's name to MYNAMEISYUGOYOUDIPSHIT_

_Gottagofast ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ has changed the room name to __**Chatroom**_

_MYNAMEISYUGOYOUDIPSHIT: Lol_

_MYNAMEISYUGOYOUDIPSHIT has changed his name to Emperor_Yuri_

_Emperor_Yuri: So what, do you wanna audition for the play or something?_

_Ms. Pigtails has joined the chatroom_

_Ms. Pigtails has changed her name to Princess_Yuzu_

_Princess_Yuzu: Yup! Does anyone wanna join us?_

_Gottagofast ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ: Sounds fun! I'm in!_

_Emperor_Yuri: Oh god, Fusion of all people ACTING?_

_Gottagofast ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ: Shut up Yuri, also it's YUGO, not FUSION_

_IdealHousewife has joined the chatroom_

_IdealHousewife has changed his name to Yuto_

_Yuto: I think it's a great idea!_

_Birds_Love_Me has joined the chatroom_

_Serena has joined the chatroom_

_Thatgirlwiththesamefaceasthatgirl has joined the chatroom_

_Thatgirlwiththesamefaceasthatgirl has changed her name to Windwitch_

_Birds_Love_Me: What's this about?_

_Serena: Stop flooding my phone with notifications_

_Windwitch: Ooh! I love Shakespeare plays!_

_Emperor_Yuri: fine, I'll come_

_PendulumPioneer: So everyone's coming?_

_Serena: I mean, I guess_

_Princess_Yuzu: Yay!_

Yuya put his phone back into his pocket, closing out the mess of a chatroom he and everyone else had made.

Yuya wondered which role he wanted to audition for when the time finally came.

* * *

Yuya and Yuzu walked towards the auditorium, there was already a fairly large crowd by the doors.

They saw Yuto and everyone else standing together in a group, they quickly joined them.

"Who's the antagonist in Romeo & Juliet? I wanna play that guy…" Yuri muttered as he looked at an audition script, a stack of papers stapled together and filled with different scenes for every character.

"Who do you think I should play?" Ruri asked, "Hm… did you consider Juliet?" Rin replied.

"I did… but no, I don't think I wanna play the main character…" Ruri replied.

"Oh, hey guys!" Yugo said as they finally noticed Yuya and Yuzu joining the group, "We grabbed two scripts for you guys too! Here!" He said as he handed them each a stack of paper.

"Maybe I'll play Juliet…" Yuzu muttered, "But doesn't that mean having to kiss whoever plays Romeo?" Yuto said in response.

Yuzu's face suddenly went bright red, "K-KISS!?" She yelled out, "I-I mean I guess, yeah…" She stuttered as she immediately flipped through the rest of the pages, "Y-yeah, I guess Juliet just isn't for me…" she started to say.

"YOU!"

Everyone suddenly turned to face the loud voice that had just pierced their ears, there was a young and tall woman with brown hair and a wide smile on her face staring directly at Yuzu, "Let me see you!" She said as she ran over to Yuzu and stared directly at her face, seemingly analyzing her.

"Umm, who are you?" Yuzu asked nervously, "Anzu, Anzu Mazaki, Ms. Mazaki, whatever!" She said quickly, her face was brightening the more she looked at the pink-haired girl.

She suddenly placed her hands on Yuzu's shoulder and smiled, "My director's instinct is screaming about you!" She said excitedly, "You're perfect! At least I hope so…" She said quickly.

"Perfect? For what?" Yuzu asked nervously.

"For the role of Juliet of course!" Anzu said as though it was obvious.

"HUH!?" Everyone yelled.

Anzu suddenly grabbed Yuzu's hand and started dragging her into the auditorium, "W-Wait! I don't think I'm cut out for…!" Yuzu started to protest, though her words fell on deaf ears when it came to the woman dragging her inside.

Yuya watched in shock, Yuzu as… Juliet?

It certainly brought a smile to his face to see her playing such an important role… but, then he thought of Yuzu kissing an unknown man.

He quickly ran towards the door and caught it before it closed, peering through to listen to what was to happen next. His brothers crowded behind him, as well as Yuzu's sisters.

"W-wait! I don't think I can play someone like Juliet…" Yuzu tried to say as she stood in the center of the stage, a spotlight focused on her while Anzu and what looked like the headmaster, Atem, sat down to watch.

"Please, just try it!" Anzu pleaded, Yuzu bit her lip and sighed as she turned to the page with Juliet's audition lines.

Yuzu took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out, before beginning to read the lines.

"_O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?_

_Deny thy father and refuse thy name;_

_Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,_

_And I'll no longer be a Capulet." _Yuzu recited.

Her voice seemed to ring on Yuya's ears, was it always this serene? This soothing?

Anzu looked at her own copy of the script and responded with the line of Romeo, who spoke next.

"_Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?" _Anzu recited, it was a line that Juliet wasn't able to hear, but it signified the point where Yuzu would continue speaking.

"_Tis but thy name that is my enemy;_

_Thou art thyself, though not a Montague._

_What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,_

_Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part_

_Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!_

_What's in a name? That which we call a rose_

_By any other name would smell as sweet;_

_So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,_

_Retain that dear perfection which he owes_

_Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,_

_And for that name which is no part of thee_

_Take all myself."_

Yuzu finished reciting the monologue, she took a deep breath in and out as she looked at the two teachers in the audience.

Anzu looked like she was about to cry tears of joy, Atem also looked impressed.

"You're PERFECT!" She suddenly yelled out, jumping out of her seat as Yuzu stepped off of the stage, "Please, will you please play Juliet?" Anzu pleaded.

"I… I don't know…" Yuzu said nervously, "It's just that… being Juliet means… well…" Yuzu started to stutter.

Atem walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Will you give it some thought?" Atem asked with a kind smile, "We will be here at 12 PM to 1 PM, both Saturday and Sunday," Atem assured, "Please, give us an answer at one of those times…" he requested, Yuzu nodded her head and started to leave.

Everyone quickly moved away from the door as Yuzu walked out, "Well?" Serena asked.

"They… want me to play Juliet…" Yuzu whispered.

Everyone let out quiet congratulations, though Yuzu wasn't smiling.

"What's wrong?" Ruri asked.

"I'm… not sure, I have time to decide but…" Yuzu said nervously.

Anzu burst out the door, "Is there anybody auditioning for Romeo?" She yelled out.

Yuya's body suddenly moved on its own, running directly up to the woman.

"Me! I want to audition for Romeo!" Yuya yelled out, his friends behind him stared at him, Yuya however, stared directly into Anzu's eyes confidently.

"Please…" Yuya said quietly, his eyes burned with quiet determination.

"Not so fast! I'm the one who's auditioning first!" Yelled a voice behind him, Yuya turned to look at who it was.

Oh, of course.

Shingo Sawatari, the guy who had somehow gotten the ability to use Pendulum Monsters.

The thought of Yuzu kissing an unknown person suddenly changed into the thought of Yuzu kissing Sawatari.

"No!" Yuya said firmly, Sawatari gave him a smug look, "Oh, and as if _you _of all people can play Romeo better than me," He said mockingly, "bring it on then, I'll destroy you as I did in the tournament…" Sawatari said menacingly.

"Right, well both of you will be auditioning, so settle down…" Anzu started to say.

"Nah, how about this…" Sawatari said, "We'll watch each other's auditions, I wanna see the look on his face when he sees how much better I am…" Sawatari said smugly.

"Bring it on!" Yuya yelled back.

"Now, boys…" Anzu started to say before Atem suddenly came out, "Is that truly what you want?" Atem asked the two boys.

"Yup…" Sawatari replied.

"I'm fine with it…" Yuya said back.

"Then why not…" Atem said with a grin, he walked back inside with Yuya and Sawatari following him, and Anzu placing a hand up to her forehead in exasperation.

"Yuya is… trying out for Romeo?" Yuzu muttered to herself.

Inside the auditorium, Sawatari stepped up to the stage first once Anzu and Atem sat down, Yuya was surprised that the headmaster was also helping with the play, but he didn't bother to question it.

"Now watch, as the great Sawatari struts his stuff!" Sawatari said dramatically as he began to recite the lines.

After about a minute or so, Sawatari finished and grinned at Yuya, he gritted his teeth, he hated to admit it, but Sawatari did well.

"Impressive…" Anzu said as she wrote something down on a clipboard, Sawatari jumped down from the stage and gave Yuya a smug grin, "Try and beat that…" he said as he walked past him, sitting down in the seats, confident that Yuya couldn't do what he had just said.

Yuya nervously stepped up onto the stage and looked at his script, it was a pretty long monologue, and poetic to the point where he had trouble understanding exactly what Romeo was saying.

He took a deep breath in, and another one out.

Not enough, once more…

Still, not enough, why was he so nervous?

He noticed Yuzu watching him through the window in the door to the auditorium, his breath hitched for a moment.

Somehow, seeing her seemed to calm him down pretty well.

He took another deep breath in, and another one out.

Alright, he was ready.

"_He jests at scars that never felt a wound." _Yuya started off, he stopped and looked at Anzu.

"Juliet appears above at a window…" Anzu said, clearing him to continue.

_But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?_

_It is the east, and Juliet is the sun._

_Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,_

_Who is already sick and pale with grief, _

_That thou her maid art far more fair than she:_

_Be not her maid, since she is envious;_

_Her vestal livery is but sick and green_

_And none but fools do wear it; cast it off._

_It is my lady, O, it is my love! _

_O, that she knew she were!_

_She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that?_

_Her eye discourses; I will answer it._

_I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks:_

_Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, _

_Having some business, do entreat her eyes_

_To twinkle in their spheres till they return._

_What if her eyes were there, they in her head?_

_The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,_

_As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven _

_Would through the airy region stream so bright_

_That birds would sing and think it were not night._

_See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!_

_O, that I were a glove upon that hand,_

_That I might touch that cheek!_

He stopped, he looked directly at the headmaster and Anzu, he hadn't realized it, but his legs were shaking ever so slightly, and his back felt incredibly itchy…

Sawatari's mouth hung open, a look of shock on his face.

Anzu suddenly stood up and clapped, "I love it!" Anzu said with a huge smile, "Perfect! Splendid!" She exclaimed, even Atem clapped his hands gently.

"If… If I don't get the role of Romeo…" Sawatari said weakly, "Are there any other roles I can try for?" He asked.

"Of course," Atem replied, "Mr. Sakaki, why don't you take a break, you look like you're about to collapse!" Atem said jokingly, Yuya nodded nervously and thanked them for their time as he left.

Yuya stepped outside and nearly fell over, he was quickly caught by Yuri and Yuto.

"Yuya? You okay?" They asked with a tone of worry, though smiles were on their faces.

"You guys were listening?" Yuya asked nervously, they nodded.

"Man… acting up there is stressful!" Yuya exclaimed as his brothers let him lean against the wall, "But… it was fun, and I think I did better than Sawatari!" Yuya said with a smile.

Yuzu smiled and took out a pink handkerchief, "Geez, look at you, you're sweating up a storm!" She said as she handed him the pink cloth, "Thanks…" Yuya replied as he wiped his forehead.

"Yuya as Romeo…" Yuzu muttered under her breath, she didn't know how to feel about that, really…

If Yuya got the role, wouldn't that mean he'd end up kissing whoever became Juliet?

She gulped, she had a lot to think about.

Meanwhile, Soul and Syrup had been watching the entire ordeal play out from the sidelines, Soul was actually paying more attention to what had just happened than anything else at school.

"Why are you so interested in them?" Syrup asked curiously, "Their relationship is so adorably cliche, that it's a really good form of inspiration for stuff that I write…" Soul replied.

"Hm…" Syrup said as she stared at the boy and girl, their relationship reminded Syrup about one of her own relationships in the past.

A small smile formed on her face, "Yeah… you're right…" she said softly as memories flew through her own head.

She reached into her pocket and took out a necklace, it had a golden chain, or at least, it looked golden, as the necklace, a small red gem in the shape of a heart was attached to the end.

"What's that?" Soul asked as Syrup stared at it, "Looks neat, why don't you wear it?" He asked.

Syrup sighed, "I probably should…" She muttered, the gem seemed to radiate a gentle heat around it, Syrup thought for a moment.

"…Where'd you get it?" Soul asked.

"A gift…" Syrup said, "from my ex…" she explained.

"You're keeping a gift from your ex?" Soul asked.

"Well, he IS technically my ex…" Syrup said as she stared at it, "but we didn't really break up, it was more like… it just became impossible to see each other…" She explained.

Soul thought for a moment, "What was his name again?" He asked.

"Drake, why?" She asked.

"His last name too, what was it?" Soul asked again.

"Drake Fenice, again, why?" She asked.

"No reason…" Soul replied, "so why are you keeping the gift?" He asked.

"You have a lot of questions…" Syrup mumbled, "Well, it's just something I have to remember him by…" She said, "It's important to me…" She said.

"Well… Drake sounds like a good guy…" Soul said as he took out his phone, Syrup smiled, "he was…" she said as she put the necklace around her neck, it felt warm.

Soul typed in the words "Drake Fenice" into his phone's search engine, his eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"Huh…" Soul muttered as he stared at Syrup, "That's… something, alright…" he muttered under his breath.

Syrup had tried out for a variety of different characters, not caring who she got, so long as she was in the play, she had put her entire heart into every single character she auditioned for

Soul had tried out for anybody as well, it was likely he was just going to be a background character with the lazy acting he gave in his auditions.

He stared at Syrup, she was his complete opposite, always bubbly, happy, attentive, she was blinding, whereas he was the very definition of gloomy.

But hey, at least there's one thing they have in common.

They both have their own demons they have to deal with.

* * *

A day had passed, so it was Saturday now. If Yuzu left right now, she could get to the auditorium at 12.

She opened the door and began to walk, she eventually reached the warp station and went to the closest location to the auditorium.

She reached the auditorium and went inside, true to their word, Atem and Anzu were speaking inside the building.

"Oh! You're here!" Anzu said with excitement, "So? Have you decided yet?" She asked as Yuzu walked up to her.

Yuzu mumbled something, her cheeks were bright red and her speech was almost inaudible, at least to Anzu, Atem, however, could read her lips, and he grinned.

"Sorry, what was that?" Anzu asked.

Yuzu raised her head and looked Anzu right in the eye, "Who…" she started to say, she felt her words catch at the back of her throat, she gulped and tried again.

"Who is going to be Romeo?" She finally asked.

Atem chuckled

"Why do you want to know that?" Anzu asked curiously.

"I just… want to know…" Yuzu muttered as her voice slowly drifted away again, Atem decided to save her.

"She wants to know who she'll have to kiss if she says yes!" He said with a grin, Yuzu's face flushed and Anzu giggled.

"Well… I guess I can tell you that…" Anzu said kindly, Yuzu looked into her eyes, not realizing how much hope was in her own eyes.

"It was a bit of a hard decision… but in the end, we settled on Yuya Sakaki," Anzu said, "He really blew us away! And it was apparently his first time reciting the script as well!" She said with a smile.

Yuzu gasped, she looked at Atem, he nodded.

She felt her heart pounding, to play as Juliet with Yuya as the Romeo…

The thought of it caused her face to go completely red, for a moment she was about to refuse, to scream "No" and run away while holding her face with her hands.

"…I'll do it…" Yuzu finally said, "I want to play Juliet!" She finally said with confidence.

Her heart felt like it was about to jump right out of her chest, had she really just said YES?

"Excellent!" Atem said as he took out a clipboard and wrote down "Yuzu" in the section that read "Juliet"

Anzu looked ecstatic, "Thank you! This is going to be the best Romeo & Juliet play ever!" She said excitedly, Yuzu laughed nervously as well.

The vision of Yuya kissing some other, faceless girl vanished from her mind, completely replaced with the image of her instead of some unknown, nameless girl.

Her face flushed, "I-I should probably go!" Yuzu yelled as she quickly ran away, Atem chuckled again.

"Man, my instincts bring us an acting star yet again!" Anzu said with a smile, Atem got up and handed her the clipboard, "with that, you should have all of the actors you need," Atem said kindly, "Now, as much as I'd like to help you some more, I have somewhere to be…" Atem said mysteriously.

"And where is that?" Anzu asked curiously.

Atem's face suddenly darkened, "We finally got Strong Ishijima to talk," Atem said darkly, "He doesn't know who the traitor is, but he gave us the location of the person who helped him even reach the school," Atem explained, "I'm going after him personally, I'll probably be gone for a while…"

Atem started to walk towards the door before stopping and looking back at Anzu, "Please make sure Yugi gets some sleep," Atem asked, "He's been spending too much time working and not enough time taking care of himself…" He explained.

"Yeah yeah, you just worry about yourself, okay?" Anzu replied with a grin.

"Of course" Atem replied as he left the auditorium, the door closed behind him, and he was gone.

Anzu sighed, "Now who can I ask to help me with this…" She asked herself.

* * *

"Yeah, I'm fine with it," Kurosaki said, shocking everyone in the room.

"Wait, you are?" Yuto asked with a look of bewilderment.

"Yeah, Romeo and Juliet is a great and well-written story," Kurosaki explained, "I'm not _pleased _about the fact Yuzu has to kiss a guy, but it's just an act…" said Kurosaki.

"Shocking, I was sure you would've ended up burning down a building in your rage…" Soul said bluntly.

"Yeah you're rig-WAIT, WHEN DID YOU GET HERE!?" Yuri exclaimed as he suddenly saw Soul and Syrup standing behind all of them.

"You guys left the door unlocked…" Soul explained, "and you're all much better company than anyone else…" said Soul.

"The people at our dorm are like, really focused on their studies," Syrup continued, "Every time we do something relatively fun instead of studying, we get this collective look of pity…" She explained.

"So, apparently Yuya is gonna be Romeo…" Serena said as she grabbed Yuya's arm and started dragging him away from where he was sitting, "And Yuzu is gonna be Juliet…" Serena said as she got closer to Yuzu, she placed Yuya right next to Yuzu and stepped away.

"You two are gonna need to practice kissing…" She said bluntly.

Yuya and Yuzu's faces went bright red, "W-WHAT!?" They both yelled. Yuri bent over laughing as the two blushed, earning a sharp glare from Kurosaki.

"I mean… you don't wanna end up becoming famous for the most awkward kiss scene in history, right?" Rin teased.

"B-b-but we can't just _kiss_ all of a sudden!" They both yelled out, "W-We need _time!" _They yelled.

Soul had fallen asleep, but he was holding a sign in his hand that read, "Just kiss already" on it.

Kurosaki meanwhile, was having a mental battle within himself whether he should stop this because, on one hand, it's for the play, but on the other hand, this technically wouldn't be acting.

"Just DO IT!" Yuri suddenly said as he pushed Yuya from behind towards Yuzu.

Everything went silent as Yuya started to fall on top of Yuzu.

Yuya was suddenly pulled back onto his feet by Soul, who had somehow woken up, appeared behind him, and grabbed him in the span of about two seconds.

"No," he said bluntly, "I am not about to watch the most cliche moment in history happen…" He said as he patted Yuya's back.

Groans of disappointment filled the room while both Yuya and Yuzu found a place to sit down, their faces red.

"Say what you want about me, but there are too many male-trips-and-falls-on-female-causing-a-kiss moments in love stories…" Soul said bluntly.

"I… I guess we're going to need to practice eventually…" Yuzu said quietly, "Y-yeah…" Yuya stuttered back.

A light bulb suddenly lit up in Serena's head, "Wait!" She said quickly as she ran out of the room.

She came back a moment later holding a Pocky box.

"The last time we played this, it didn't work out too well!" She yelled, "But it STILL HAPPENED," she said as she took out one of the sticks.

Everyone stared at both Yuya and Yuzu.

Yuya and Yuzu looked to Yugo and Rin for help.

They did not get help, instead, they got two emotionless looks.

"We are not about to be the only two people here to have played the Pocky game…" they both said in unison.

_Five minutes, and a fair amount of struggling later…_

Yuya and Yuzu now sat on the floor across from each other, each biting down on one end of the Pocky stick, their faces red.

"This is also pretty damn cliche…" Soul muttered, "but I'll take it…" he finished.

"Ah… the first kiss…" Syrup said dreamily, "I remember mine… it was perfect…!" She said with a blissful smile on her face

"Yeah… lucky you…" both Rin and Yugo said in response, though they had already apologized to each other about what had happened with their own Pocky game, they had sort of left it at that. Neither of them had really talked about well, the kiss.

The only thing keeping the two from just letting go of the chocolate-covered sweet was the fact that as the actors for Romeo and Juliet, _this was gonna happen eventually._

Kurosaki suddenly stood up, "I need to leave…" he said as he turned and left the room, the conflicting emotions in his head too much to handle.

"Hold on… I'm recording this…" Yuri said as he took his phone out and started recording, Serena did the same, "Pray that this doesn't end as it did with Yugo and Rin…" she muttered under her breath.

Yuya gulped and inched a little forward on the stick, Yuzu blushed and did the same.

_Ten excruciating minutes later…_

Yuya and Yuzu's faces were even closer now, hardly any space between them, and hardly any pocky left either.

Their faces were as red as Yuya's hair (the red part, obviously), they could feel each other's small breaths as their lips stood dangerously close to each other.

"Come on… come on… come on…!" Yuto whispered to himself, even he was waiting in suspense for the big moment.

Yuya looked directly into Yuzu's blue eyes, she stared back at him.

"_Oh, FINE…!" _Yuzu thought as she steeled her resolve.

She advanced by a single, half an inch.

And their puckered lips finally touched.

Everyone gasped as the Pocky vanished and the tips of their lips made contact for the first time.

It was a short, innocent, and sweet kiss.

They separated after five seconds of their lips touching the others awkwardly. They jumped away from each other, their faces red and gasping for breath as they stared at each other.

Ruri's face was beaming, "That was so adorable!" She exclaimed, "You two are so awkward and I love it!" Syrup squealed in agreement.

"Meh, should've gone all in…" Yuri muttered.

"The real kiss can wait…" Soul muttered to himself.

Both Yuya and Yuzu suddenly collapsed onto the ground, fainting.

* * *

A week later, rehearsals officially started, and Yuya and Yuzu's situation ended up making its way to Anzu and her new helpers, Mr. Judai and Ms. Asuka.

"You don't have to worry about the kissing right now," Anzu said with a smile, "We won't force you to practice it if you're uncomfortable with it, but you will have to kiss during the play unless there's another reason why you can't?" She asked while also teasing the two.

"Really?" They both said immediately, Anzu nodded kindly.

A wave of relief washed over them, but at the same time, they both looked down a little in disappointment (not like they'd admit it though).

"Aww, boo!" Yuri said in disappointment from nearby.

* * *

A month passed as they practiced, learning their lines and learning how they would act while onstage.

Sawatari complained that Yuya and Yuzu would still need to kiss eventually, but in the span of a month, very little progress was made, they had _tried _simply kissing on the cheek, but they couldn't handle that level of contact yet either.

Other than that though, it was going fine. Costumes had come in, and they were pretty high-quality stuff as well.

Yuya had asked Sawatari about how he had gotten the ability to use Pendulum Monsters, but he just shrugged and said: "I dunno, ask Reiji about that!"

A bit of a problem, considering that Yuya could seemingly NEVER seem to find Reiji anyways.

A month turned into two months, and two months into three.

"The semester is almost over, isn't it?" Yugo asked as he and his brothers dressed into their costumes, something they were now supposed to practice in from now on.

"Yeah, the play is gonna be the last big thing before the semester ends, and we get to see what the next part of the tournament will be like…" Yuto replied.

"I nearly forgot about the tournament… hopefully, we don't have to deal with anything like that Kachidoki guy…" Yuri said with a tired tone.

"I wonder how he's doing…" Yuya muttered.

Yugo suddenly let out a shout of excitement, he pulled out his phone and grinned giddily, his brothers peered over his shoulder curiously.

"Wha-!" Yuya exclaimed.

"You didn't…!" Yuto gasped.

"Oh hey, you actually pulled it off…" Yuri said, looking impressed.

On Yugo's phone, was a live feed of the girl's changing room.

And Yuzu and her sisters had just walked inside.

"Turn it off, TURN IT OFF!" Yuya practically yelled as Yuzu started to take off her shirt, he was trying to look away, but his eyes were locked to the screen.

"No way! Can you imagine the kind of stuff I can make Serena do if I have pictures of this?" Yuri said with a smug grin.

"You can't blackmail people, Yuri!" Yuto yelled.

"What, it's not like I haven't already…" Yuri muttered.

"OFF! TURN IT OFF!" Yuya screamed while Yugo's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as they continued to look at the screen.

Suddenly, Rin looked directly at the camera, everyone froze.

"_Wait… everyone stop what you're doing…" _She said as she grabbed a stool and placed it under where the camera apparently was.

A moment passed.

The camera suddenly shifted, and suddenly started to move downwards, blood had seemingly started to drain from Yugo's face.

They suddenly saw a closeup of Rin's face on the screen, she inspected what was apparently the camera, before her face suddenly contorted into a mixture of embarrassment and rage.

"YUGO!"

They HEARD that, not even from the phone, they heard it through the walls, Yugo's face had gone a ghostly white, his brothers quickly dashed away from him to their own lockers.

"Sorry Fusion, you're on your own" Yuri said quickly.

"Karma is a bitch, Yugo…" Yuto said with a tone of disappointment.

"If you live, I promise to apologize…" Yuya said as he tried to remove the image of a half-naked Yuzu from his head.

"W-wait, you guys!" Yugo stuttered, banging was suddenly heard on the door to the locker room, Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri decided to hide in their lockers, as not to be found in the same room as Yugo.

The door was suddenly burst open, the air left Yugo's lungs as four figures stood outside the door, each fully clothed, and staring directly at Yugo.

Rin looked like the very definition of _pissed_, Ruri looked cross, while Serena had a look of confusion on her face like nobody had explained to her what was happening yet. Meanwhile, Yuzu had the same look on her face as Rin, although with much more embarrassment, and a paper fan in her hand.

Yugo attempted to find an excuse, to spit out some lie that could somehow get him out of this situation.

Unfortunately, it seemed that like his brothers, his vocal cords had abandoned him as well.

Yugo's brothers winced as they heard Yugo shriek, followed by multiple angry yells and a loud crash.

"_Rest in peace… brother…" _Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri all thought as loud crashes filled the room.

_Five minutes later…_

The girls finally left the room, Yuya and his brothers slowly exited their lockers and looked around, trying to find Yugo's remains.

They found him lying on the floor, completely limp and unconscious, his phone laid next to him, broken completely in half.

"He died as he lived…" Yuri muttered, "a hopeless pervert…" He stated while his brothers each nodded in agreement.

In response, Yugo's middle finger slowly uncurled, flipping off the three males standing above him, along with a quiet "fuck you guys…" from the limp body below them.

**Yugo-Being-A-Perv Counter: 1**

* * *

More days of practice passed, Yugo now got multiple glares from all of the females in the play on a regular basis, while his brothers denied involvement. In the end, Rin and her sisters were the only ones willing to go near him, as they had forgiven him after a week of Yugo being forced to do whatever they asked him to do, mostly their homework and cleaning their rooms.

They started setting up the auditorium for the play, using transformations to speed up the process.

"Come on! **Elemental Hero Neos!" **Mr. Judai said enthusiastically, changing into a large human-like warrior who was wearing a white skin-tight suit around him, and though he was human-like, whether he was even human was questionable.

With the help of being able to transform into large and powerful monsters, constructing giant scenery-props was fairly easy, though they all did break a sweat while working on the props.

And before they knew it, it was only days until the date of the play.

"Yuzu? Yuya? Can I speak to you for a bit?" Anzu called as everyone rehearsed their parts, the pressure was getting to them.

Yuya and Yuzu each walked to Anzu, Yuzu wore a white dress and flowers in her hair, while Yuya wore clothing that gave him the look of a medieval prince.

"The big day is coming up, you guys…" she said softly, Yuya and Yuzu could tell where this conversation was leading.

"Yeah… we have to kiss…" Yuya said nervously, it had been put off for far too long, and they didn't want to end up literally butting heads if they attempted to kiss during the play.

Anzu sighed, they were perfect for their roles, they had each memorized their lines completely, and could speak them confidently and dramatically, seemingly transforming into the characters themselves.

There was only going to be two kisses that they would have to do during the play, those kisses being at the tragic ending, but it was still terrifying.

Judai suddenly entered the room along with Asuka, "Ah, just let them be!" He said casually, Anzu stared at him, "But we can't just…!" She started to say before she saw Asuka give her a look of reassurance.

"Ugh… okay, fine…" Anzu gave up, she turned to face the young boy and girl, "Just understand that you WILL have to kiss during the play, no exceptions!" She said promptly, Yuya and Yuzu each nodded their heads.

Both Yuya and Yuzu avoided each other's gaze, unable to look at each other without their faces turning bright red.

* * *

It was the day of the play.

"Oh my god… what am I gonna do…!" Yuzu panicked while her sisters tried to calm her down, but she couldn't.

Outside was a large, incredibly large actually, sea of people about to watch them perform.

But that wasn't even the main problem, the main problem was, of course, Yuya.

"I… I have to k-kiss him soon…!" She stuttered out, her face bright red as emotions shot through her head.

Suddenly, Syrup appeared in front of her.

"Huh…!" Yuzu started to say as she looked up, she noticed Syrups palms hanging in front of each other.

_Smack!_

Syrup clapped her hands together right in front of her face, "Ah!" Yuzu recoiled in surprise.

Syrup grinned, "Are you calmer now?" She asked kindly.

Yuzu looked down at her hands, they had stopped shaking.

"What did you…" Yuzu started to ask, Syrup simply grinned, somehow causing Yuzu to stop talking.

"Listen, you like him, don't you?" Syrup asked as Yuzu's face turned bright red, though she didn't say anything.

"I understand, you're a tsundere who can't be open about her feelings…" Syrup sighed, "I am not…!" Yuzu started to say, before suddenly quieting again when she saw Syrup raise an eyebrow at her.

"You can take your time when it comes to your relationship with him, whatever you wanna do…" Syrup said as she placed her hands on Yuzu's shoulder, "but these moments, they're going to be really special for you…" Syrup explained, "because people, especially people you care about, can be torn away from you without any warning…" she said softly.

Yuzu looked up at her, she could have sworn she saw a flash of sadness in Syrup's usually-peppy face.

"Now go on… you want this, right?" Syrup asked.

Yuzu nodded, she was of course, right…

Telling Yuya her feelings… was out of the question, her heart couldn't possibly take it…

But she couldn't hide her feelings of excitement, even with all of the butterflies in her stomach.

"Come on, Yuzu…" she muttered to herself, "you can do this…" she said as she stood up, her legs still shook, but she had a look of confidence on her face.

* * *

The play was going well, everyone acted their hearts out, and the crowd was loving it.

Eventually, they reached the moment that Yuya and Yuzu knew was coming.

"_Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips, O you_

_The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss_

_A dateless bargain to engrossing death." _Yuya recited as he stood over Yuzu, whose eyes were closed as she played dead. Yuya took from the pocket of his costume, a small, black, and fancy bottle. It was only filled with water, but for the play, they would act it out like poison.

"_Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide._

_Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on_

_The dashing rocks thy seasick, weary bark._

_Here's to my love!" _Yuya said as he held the bottle in the air. Yuzu gulped, knowing what was coming.

Yuya placed the bottle up to his mouth and drank the water inside it in a single gulp, he gagged (acting, of course) as the bottle fell from his hand, clattering to the floor.

His knees shook, and he fell forwards, now laying on top of Yuzu.

He began to speak again, this time, however, almost quiet, almost rasping.

"_O true apothecary," _Yuya said as his face fell close to Yuzu's, "_Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss…" _he paused, the last two words now catching on his tongue, he knew what was to happen next.

He took a deep breath, though he disguised it as a gasp for the audience, before finally speaking his last two lines, "…_I die…" _he finally said, before placing his lips to Yuzu's own lips.

Yuzu gasped lightly at the sensation, she nearly opened her eyes in the surprise, but she kept them lightly closed for the play.

"_I'm kissing… I'm kissing Yuya…!" _Yuzu thought frantically, the sensation shot through her like electricity, if it weren't for the fact that Yuzu had to remain limp, she might have leaned forward into the kiss.

Yuya slowly separated his lips from hers, before laying down limply next to Yuzu's body in the casket she had been laying in.

She nearly whined in disappointment, she would never admit to it, but she wanted to feel that sensation again, she wanted to feel her lips against his. If the kiss was a drug, then Yuzu could have become an addict.

She suddenly remembered the rest of the play, and slowly opened her eyes to continue the play.

* * *

Yuzu's face was twisted in sadness, She-no, Juliet, had just found Yuya-no, Romeo, lying dead at her side.

Neither she or Yuya knew they were good at acting before this, so this would be cause for celebration later.

"_What's here? A cup, closed in my true love's hand?_

_Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end.—_

_O churl, drunk all, and left no friendly drop_

_To help me after? I will kiss thy lips._

_Haply some poison yet doth hang on them,_

_To make me die with a restorative." _Yuzu recited, leaning down and this time, being the one to kiss Yuya.

She had forgotten the fact that people were watching them and simply continued to recite the lines she had engraved into her memory.

"_Thy lips are warm…" _She said softly as they separated again, she could faintly hear two other characters enter the scene for their own parts in their scene, but she managed to hear her queue to continue speaking.

"_Yea, noise? Then I'll be brief…"_ Yuzu said as she picked up a prop dagger below her, raising it into the air. "_O happy dagger, This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die…" _she said before plunging the plastic, yet real-looking dagger to her chest.

The blade vanished, being a trick-knife with a blade that retracts into the handle, but it looked real enough.

She fell next to Yuya, letting out convincing gasps as she slowly closed her eyes, laying limp next to Yuya.

"_He's… warm…" _she thought as her eyes closed, relaxing into her position, lying peacefully next to him.

_Meanwhile, in the audience…_

"Kurosaki, I know what you're thinking right now…" Gongenzaka started to say.

"It's-just-an-act-It's-just-an-act-It's-just-an-act…" Kurosaki muttered to himself as he held down an arm that was trembling violently.

"And I just want you to know…" Gongenzaka continued.

"It's-not-real-It's-not-real-It's-not-real…" Kurosaki continued to mutter to himself.

"That you promised your sisters that you wouldn't lose your mind during the play…" Gongenzaka finished.

Kurosaki froze, his face had gone completely blank and emotionless.

"I think you broke him…" Sora said from beside Gongenzaka.

**Kurosaki-Loses-His-Mind Counter: 1**

* * *

A man dashed into an abandoned warehouse, sweat dripped down his neck in large amounts, he was gasping for breath as he leaned against a wall, attempting to catch his breath. The full moon shone brightly in the sky above him.

A ball of purple energy burst through the wall next to him, just barely missing his face. He jumped back with a shriek, he'd evaded this guy for months now… but he just wouldn't give up.

"You've led me on quite the chase…" he heard the voice of his pursuer from outside, these walls were thinner than he had thought. "But I believe it is time we bring this to a close…" the voice continued.

The warehouse door opened ever so slowly, a purple-robed magician stepped inside, followed by another magician that wore bright blue, yellow, and pink.

The Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl, you'd have to have lived under a rock to not recognize those monsters.

Finally, the figure of a tall, fairly muscular man stepped inside, his hair unbelievably spikey, and a strange, pyramid necklace hanging from his neck.

"Damn it…" the man grunted, he had heard that this man was coming for him, and promptly packed his bags and tried to get as far away from him as he could.

Clearly, he hadn't gone far enough.

"It just had to be you… didn't it…" the man gritted his teeth, "The duelist who doesn't transform… yet one of the strongest duelists in the world…!" He said angrily as the man's face came into view. "Atem!" The man declared.

Atem grinned, "I suggest that you come along quietly… we wouldn't want to make too much noise at this time of night…" He said calmly, DM and DMG each pointed the ends of their staffs at the man, dark magic forming at the tips.

The man took a step back, an orange card manifesting in his hand, "As if… I'd go down without a fight…!" He declared as he crushed the card in his hand. "**To me! Ancient Gear Knight!" **He yelled as he transformed into a robotic warrior, holding a shield and spear as his weapons. Despite his old and rickety appearance, Atem could tell that he was still fairly strong for a criminal-duelist.

"Get away!" The man yelled, thrusting his spear directly at Atem's chest.

The pyramid-necklace hanging from Atem's neck started glowing, and a glowing, third eye formed on his forehead.

"W-WHA!?" The man yelled as his surroundings suddenly vanished, leaving him in a deep, dark void. Atem and his spirits had vanished as well.

He soon noticed that his transformation had come undone as well, there was no floor beneath him, yet his feet could feel the solid ground underneath him.

Suddenly, he found himself sitting down in front of a small, wooden table. At the other end of the table, sat Atem.

He scrambled to get out of his seat, but despite nothing being there to hold him down, he could not move.

Atem smiled at him, "Please, don't be so alarmed…" he said cryptically, a cup of tea suddenly popping into existence beside him, suspended in the air until Atem picked it up, taking a sip of the warm liquid.

"Where the hell are we!?" The man yelled, Atem simply smiled as he took another sip of tea from his cup.

"Answer me, damn it!" The man yelled angrily, Atem slowly put the cup down on the table and grinned.

"Call me foolish, naive, or even condescending…" Atem began to say, "but I found it a bit unfair to you, having to fight me for your freedom…" he explained.

The man almost felt insulted, but at the same time, fighting Atem wasn't something he really wanted to do either. "So then… what are we doing?" He asked with a hesitant tone.

Atem smiled, "A game…" Atem said with a grin that seemed almost sinister, but not entirely. "A very simple game… and a reward I would assume you would want…" Atem explained.

"And what would that be?" The man asked.

"Should you win, I shall leave you alone, and you will no longer have to worry about me coming after you, ever again…" Atem said with a look of confidence, "I swear it on my pride as a duelist…" he finished.

"And if you win…?" The man asked.

"Well, I take you in, of course…" Atem said with a calm smile.

"And if I refuse?" The man asked.

"Should you refuse this challenge, I will be forced to release you from this place," Atem answered, "But of course, that means that we will fight each other in the real world, and we both know how that will end…" said Atem.

"I don't have a choice then, do I…" The man muttered, Atem simply smiled.

"Let me warn you," Atem said suddenly, "Accepting this challenge is also an agreement, an agreement not to cheat…" Atem said gravely, "a punishment game awaits those who cheat, after all…" He said mysteriously.

"Yeah, yeah… all right then…" The man said exasperatedly.

Atem smiled and snapped his fingers, a mirror suddenly appeared above them, before plummeting to the ground and shattering on the table, however shattering perfectly into large pieces, like a puzzle.

"The rules are simple…" Atem began to say as he crossed his legs, one on top of the other, "we will each wear a blindfold over our heads, and try to put the mirror back together again, like a puzzle…" He explained as two blindfolds appeared on the table.

"Taking the blindfolds off, is, of course, cheating…" Atem said as he wrapped the blindfold around his head, covering his eyes, the man did the same thing.

"Now then… the Shadow Game shall commence…" Atem said cryptically, "_Game Start!"_

The man immediately went to work, attempting to find which shards of the mirror would fit together properly, only to find that he _really wasn't good at this game._

"_Wait… I can just take off my blindfold… and he would never know it… right?" _The man thought to himself as he raised the blindfold past his eyes and onto his forehead.

"And this piece… goes here?" Atem muttered to himself, the blindfold still on as he pieced the mirror together, he was already about halfway done.

The man grinned, "_This'll be easy!" _He thought to himself as he started piecing the mirror together at a fast pace.

"I'm about halfway done… how are you?" Atem asked, seemingly innocently.

"Damn, this is hard…" the man said while holding back his laughter, he was already almost done with the game.

"I'd like to remind you, that cheating is not allowed…" Atem said randomly, "Mhmm, yeah yeah…" the man said half-mindedly, there was only one piece left.

"_This game is mine…!" _The man thought triumphantly as he moved to place the final piece into the mirror.

However, the piece wouldn't fit.

"Huh…?" The man muttered, he tried turning the shard a different way, but it was no use. Not only was the piece much too big, but it was in a completely different shape as well.

"The hell!? This game is rigged!" He yelled angrily.

"No, the Shadow Game simply responded to your cheating…" Atem said gravely.

"Wha!?" The man exclaimed, Atem stood up and pointed directly at him, "The Shadow Game reveals humanity's true nature!" Atem exclaimed as a glowing third-eye appeared on his forehead again. "The door of darkness has been opened!" He yelled as the wind started to blow wildly around them, blowing everything off of the table.

"The hell…!" The man yelled, "That's it, lemme out of here!" He yelled angrily.

Suddenly, a flash of orange light came from behind him, and there stood his monster, Ancient Gear Knight.

"Ancient Gear Knight…!" The man gasped, he looked back at Atem, the blindfold was still on his regular two eyes. This was his chance.

"Go! Ancient Gear Knight!" He yelled the mechanical warrior's eyes flashed as it raised its lance, attacking the spiky-haired duelist in front of them.

Atem raised a hand and caught the large lance with ease.

"What the!?" The man exclaimed, golden energy suddenly began to flow around Atem's body, the eye on his forehead glowing bright, the same light emanating from his necklace as well.

The table vanished, and Atem raised his hand above him, where a red, glowing card hovered in his palm, yet a heavenly, golden light shone from its center.

The man thought it was just his imagination, but he could have sworn he saw Atem's appearance change for a moment, his skin turned brown, and his attire changing into what you would think an old Egyptian would wear. But his appearance turned back to normal before the man could properly process it.

"The punishment game has begun… you ignored the warnings, and now you shall pay the price!" Atem yelled, his blindfold flew off of him as he glared at the man.

The man jumped backward, Ancient Gear Knight doing the same thing.

"Come! One of my three most powerful servants!" Atem yelled as the wind howled around them, "_**Slifer The Sky Dragon!" **_He yelled as he crushed the card in his hand.

A loud roar echoed around them, causing the winds to blow even more furiously, Atem stood still as thunder crackled around them, the man could briefly make out a figure in the darkness surrounding them.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning struck the area behind Atem, and in an instant, a monster that the man had never wished to encounter floated menacingly behind Atem.

"N-No way…" The man muttered as he stared up at the giant monster.

A long, red dragon.

With two jaws.

Even his monster shuddered.

"It's over…" Atem said as yellow lightning began to form in Slifer's bottom jaw, "Now attack! Go, Slifer!" Atem yelled as the man screamed in fear, his monster raised its shield desperately.

"_**THUNDER FORCE!" **_

The man screamed as a large stream of lightning erupted from Slifer's jaw, his monster attempted to block against it, but to no avail.

They were both blasted away by the stream of power.

* * *

The man was back in the real world, completely unconscious, and foaming at the mouth.

Dark Magician gave Atem a look of concern.

Atem grinned, "Oh, he'll be fine…" Atem said as he picked the man up and threw him over his shoulder, "Although, he might wake up a little… shaken…" Atem admitted.

Dark Magician Girl poked at his face with the tip of her staff, also a little concerned.

"Again, he will be fine…" Atem stated as he stepped out of the abandoned warehouse, "He's just unconscious…" He said with a grin.

"Admittedly though… I probably should have held back a little, no?" He asked cheerfully while his magicians sighed in response.

* * *

"Here's to a successful play!" Yugo exclaimed excitedly, holding up a mysterious drink that Yuri had gotten ahold of.

"Yeah!" Yelled everyone else, each holding up a similar beverage (everyone else being: Yuya, Yuzu, Yuto, Ruri, Rin, Yuri, Serena, Syrup, and Soul, not Kurosaki though, he had apparently needed to go to bed and process everything after the play).

They each cheered to a successful play, celebrating with food, snacks, and a lot of party-poppers (except Soul, who looked like he was about to fall asleep, which is understandable, considering how late of a night it was). They all took a drink from their respective cups and continued to celebrate.

"So…" Yuri said as he sat down next to Yuya, "You and Ms. Paper-Fan finally smooched, didja?" He said with a large grin on his face.

Yuya and Yuzu both blushed, "Y-Y-YEAH, I-I GUESS…" They each exclaimed at the same time.

"B-But it was just acting…!" Yuzu said quickly.

"Y-Yeah! It was just for the play…!" Yuya agreed.

Yuri groaned and leaned back on his seat.

Yugo shook his head with disappointment.

Yuto slapped his hand to his forehead.

The sisters had similar reactions as well.

Syrup was giggling tremendously, "PFft-hahaha!" She exclaimed, "Y'all are so adorable…!" She yelled as she broke into a bigger fit of giggles.

Soul snored, having fallen asleep again.

Both Yuya and Yuzu blushed, refusing to look at each other in the eye.

"Well, enough of that…" Yuto said as he cleared his throat, "I believe it's time we had some fun, no?" He said with a smile.

And thus, the party began.

* * *

"Hey, Rin… you have pretty eyes…" Yugo spat out half-mindedly as he leaned on Serena's shoulder.

"I'm not Rin! Get off me!" Serena yelled angrily, kicking him directly in the gut, and sending him directly into the wall.

"K-KOH…!" Yugo grunted in pain as he slid down the wall, clutching his stomach desperately.

"Yeah… that's right!" Serena yelled as she wobbled a bit, "Don't touch me ya fuggin… pleb…!" She groaned, her face was a bright red.

"Serena… why are you... slurring yer speech…" Rin groaned while her face flushed a similar shade of red.

"I dun fuggin know…" Serena groaned back as she fell against the wall.

Syrup was laughing hysterically against the wall, she had started laughing about ten minutes ago, and she was still going.

Soul was wide awake, but he looked exhausted as he stared out at them.

"Wait… what are these drinks anyways…" Yuya muttered as he stared at his cup.

Yuri's face was as red as Serena's, "Oh, just passion fruit…" he groaned.

"Oh."

"SPIKED WITH HARD ALCOHOL!" Yuri suddenly screamed.

"NOOOOOO" Yuto screamed, "WE'RE UNDERAGE YURI! I'VE HAD LIKE, FIVE CUPS OF THIS!" He shrieked.

"I KNOW!" Yuri yelled back, "ISN'T THIS GREAT!?" He shrieked.

"Oh…" Soul muttered, "So that's why I'm awake…" he said to himself.

"AHAHAHA!" Syrup burst out, "That's HILARIOUS!" She yelled as she buckled over laughing, apparently breaking into constant laugher if drunk.

"Yuto… is that you…?" Ruri mumbled as she stared at the four brothers, "There's four of you…" she mumbled, halfway on the verge of passing out, yet still awake.

"I've had four glasses…" Yuya muttered as he leaned against the wall, "Oh no… how much did Yuzu have?" He asked.

"Yuuuuuyaaaa…" Muttered the pink-haired girl from behind him.

**Drink Count:**

**Yuya: 4**

**Yuto: 5½ (has half-a-cup left)**

**Yugo: 4½**

**Yuri: 6**

**Serena: 6**

**Rin: 5**

**Ruri: 7**

**Soul: 2**

**Syrup: 4**

**Yuzu: 12**

"Twelve… she's had twelve drinks…" Soul muttered.

"_Yuuuuyaaaaaa…" _Yuzu groaned as she suddenly latched onto him, hanging from his chest while Yuya struggled to keep her from falling to the ground, "I misssssss youuuuuuu…" she groaned.

"I'd like to point out that Yuri KNEW what was in the drinks, but he still drank six glasses…" Soul muttered.

Yuri burped, "Damn right!" He yelled.

"Soul…" Yugo muttered, "Didn't you say you could draw anybody naked…?" He groaned.

"Gimme thirty seconds of just staring at someone and yeah, I can accurately imagine it, yeah…" Soul muttered back.

"GOOD" Yugo exclaimed, "I WANNA PICTURE OF RI-"

He didn't get to finish the sentence, as Rin had jumped up and punched him directly in the gut, right where Serena had just kicked him.

**Yugo-Being-A-Perv Counter: 2**

"Yuuuuyaaaa!" Yuzu groaned, "Come sleep with me!" She yelled.

"WHAT!?" Yuya yelled.

"I get lonelyyy at night!" She groaned, "I want CUDDLES!" She exclaimed as she clung to his body.

"O-Oh… Wait, WHAT!?" Yuya yelled.

Yuri whistled from his spot on the couch, where Serena had found a nice place to pass out, on Yuri's lap.

"Touch her and Kurosaki's gonna kill ya…" Soul muttered while Syrup shook him back and forth in her endless stream of laughter.

"Yuuuuuyaaaaaa…" Yuzu groaned, her face was bright red, and her blue eyes stared directly into Yuya's own eyes.

_Christ, she's adorable._

"I think you put Yuzu to bed, she's drunk too much…" Soul said with the bluntest face in existence.

"What!? Why me!?" Yuya yelled as the alcohol he had unknowingly placed into his system made him react much too strongly.

"Well, obviously because she's clinging to you and not anybody else…" Yuri slurred lazily.

"Yuto! Help me!" Yuya yelled as the intoxicated girl tightened her grip around him.

"I HAVE _FAILED _EVERYONE!" Yuto screamed as now sat in a corner, a look of anguish plastered on his face, "I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE RESPONSIBLE ONE!" He yelled in despair.

"Go home, Yuto!" Yugo yelled, "Yer drunk!" He groaned as he continued to clutch his stomach in pain.

"Y-You're d-drunk!" Rin yelled angrily, "Shhhhhhut up… ya, hypocrite…" She slurred before falling off of the couch she was laying on and promptly losing consciousness.

"Yuuuuuuyaaaaaaa…" Yuzu groaned, "Why're you being so meaaaaan to meeee…" She moaned as drunk tears flowed out of her eyes.

"BUT IM NOT THOUGH!" Yuya yelled desperately.

"I'VE BROKEN THE LAWWWWWWW!" Yuto screamed in anguish, "I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO DRINK UNTIL I'M TWENTY-ONE!" He wailed.

Syrup's laughter had broken out into full-on hysteria, so Soul took it upon himself to smack her in the back of her head, promptly knocking her out.

Ruri was now on the floor next to Rin, "I have a confession to make…" Ruri groaned before passing out as well, unable to finish her sentence, and probably for the best.

"Oh, FINE!" Yuya yelled as he separated himself from Yuzu, and picking her up bridal-style. "I'll take Yuzu to bed!" He said exasperatedly.

"Yuuuuuuyaaaaaa… that's naughty!" Mumbled the intoxicated female in his arms.

"S-SHUT UP!" Yuya yelled in response, his face somehow turning an even deeper shade of red.

Soul chuckled, "Heh… naughty…" he mumbled before also, passing out.

Yuya decided to ignore everyone else and just go to bed to sleep off Yuri's prank.

"FUSION, you have a shitty sense of fashion!"

"SHUDDUP, GRAPE-HEAD, AND ITS YUGO, NOT FUSION"

* * *

Yuya managed to open the door to Yuzu's room, despite his hands being full with the girl in his arms.

"Note to self…" Yuya said as he walked over to Yuzu's bed, "never yet Yuri handle the refreshments, ever again…" He finished as he laid the girl down on the bed. Yuya hoped that out of all the things he was going to forget in the morning, this mental-note wasn't one of them.

Yuzu was now mostly asleep, meaning she was mumbling strange things that Yuya didn't understand, and her eyes were still halfway-open.

Yuya groaned as he tucked the pink-haired girl into bed, completely and utterly exhausted from today's events.

The play had gone off perfectly, to Yuya and Yuzu's embarrassment, however. The kiss was one thing that they hadn't talked about yet.

Yuya stared at the intoxicated girl and sighed, he wondered if what he was thinking of doing right now, was really the right thing to do.

Yuya was exhausted, Yuzu was exhausted, and there was a bed right here…

Yuya knew that the idea would have been the epitome of bad ideas to him normally, but for some reason, the idea seemed like a much better idea right now…

He blamed it on the alcohol.

"Yuya…" Yuzu muttered as her eyes started to open, "Is that you…?" She asked sleepily.

"Yeah, it's me…" Yuya replied softly. He couldn't help but examine her face as she stared at him, it may have been just the alcohol, but she seemed even more beautiful tonight than ever before.

"Yuzu…" Yuya started to say before he suddenly felt her arms wrap around his neck and roughly yank him onto the bed.

"Y-Yuzu!" Yuya exclaimed as he felt her arms wrap around him, pulling his face right into her chest while she cradled him.

Yuzu was giggling, a smile on her increasingly-red face. "Y-Yuzu, what are you…!?" Yuya started to exclaim, before having his voice drowned out by Yuzu's drunken giggles.

"You're really handsome… and you have three lookalikes…" Yuzu muttered half-mindedly, the alcohol doing the talking for her.

Yuya's face turned an even brighter shade of red at those words, and he sincerely hoped she wouldn't remember this in the morning, because otherwise, Yuzu's paper-fan would be the least of his worries.

"Y-Yuzu, I shouldn't be here…!" Yuya said quickly, Yuzu simply giggled and put a finger to his lips, "You're… so cute…" she muttered drunkenly, Yuya's face seemed like it was about to catch on fire.

"Kissing you… I really… enjoyed it…" Yuzu said softly, her face slowly moving closer to his own face.

"U-Uhh…" Yuya stuttered, "I-I enjoyed it… as well…" he finally said, being unable to find a proper response, and just blurting out the truth.

Yuzu giggled at him, giving him an almost _seductive _smile.

"Oh god, she's _that _type of drunk…" Yuya panicked, though Yuzu continued to embrace him.

"Yuya… you have really soft lips…" Yuzu mumbled as her face inched closer, "O-oH rEaLlY…?" Yuya's voice cracked.

"Yeah…" Yuzu mumbled drunkenly, Yuya was finding it more and more difficult not to focus on the many features of her face. "Do you… mind if we kiss… again…?" She asked innocently.

Yuya's mind broke, and his heart exploded.

"Y-Y-Y-YUZU… W-W-WE CAN'T…" Yuya sputtered frantically.

He didn't get to finish his sentence, as Yuzu decided to kiss him without waiting for an answer.

"M-mmph…!" Yuya grunted as he felt the pink-haired girl's lips press against his own.

"_They're… soft…" _Yuya suddenly thought as his body seemed to melt into the kiss.

Every rational part of Yuya's mind flared in panic, before suddenly vanishing into thin air, allowing Yuya to lean further into the kiss.

Yuya blamed it on the alcohol.

The door to Yuzu's room suddenly opened, and in walked Serena, her school-uniform partially unbuttoned, and her hair a complete mess. Not to mention the cup of spiked-liquid that was for some reason _in her hand_.

"Oops… this isn't my room…" Serena muttered drunkenly.

She then noticed Yuya and Yuzu together in the bed, Yuya froze while Yuzu continued their kiss.

A moment passed.

"…make sure to wear protection…" Serena muttered before closing the door, though Yuya managed to hear something from downstairs before the doors closed.

"SERENA, COME ON, YOU KNOW YA WANT ME!"

"YURI, PUT YOUR PANTS BACK ON!"

"AH, SHUDDUP YUTO!"

Yuya felt the urge to yell at Serena that what she was implying, was NOT what was happening, but his mouth was currently busy.

He and Yuzu finally separated, gasping for breath. "Yuzu…" Yuya started to say.

Unfortunately, Yuzu had just passed out.

With her grip around him, still completely locked.

"Y-Yuzu…! I need to head back to my room…!" Yuya stuttered to no avail, the alcohol had finally knocked the young girl out for the night.

"I'm… so screwed tomorrow…" Yuya said out loud while Yuzu snuggled up to him, a smile plastered to her face.

Yuya couldn't help but get comfortable in her arms and fall asleep next to her, taking in her scent as they cuddled.

* * *

Yuzu woke up to light flooding into her room from the window, and a pounding headache that felt like a drill was attempting to break through her skull.

Obviously, her mood upon waking up was less than ideal.

"Ow… my head…" Yuzu groaned as she sat up, her hair a complete mess as she looked around at her surroundings.

"Is this… my room…?" Yuzu pondered out loud, "How did I get here…?" She asked nobody in particular.

"We had a party… we all drank the juice Yuri got us…" She mumbled.

The second she said that sentence, her headache got worse. Simply because of her increasing annoyance at herself for allowing herself to consume ANYTHING Yuri gave them, especially without asking about it first.

"Christ… it was spiked… wasn't it?" She said aloud, it made sense, after all, it would explain the massive memory gaps in her head.

Suddenly, she felt her hand brush against someone next to her.

"AH!" Yuzu yelped as she jumped backward, immediately noticing the head of red and green hair next to her.

Yuya groaned, clutching his head similarly to what Yuzu was doing with her own head, "Good morning…" he mumbled sleepily, his hair sticking out in more places than usual, and clearly still half-asleep.

"Yuya… in my… bed…" Yuzu muttered as Yuya slowly started to wake up, turning to face her.

A moment passed as they stared at each other.

Yuya was the first to react, "Y-YUZU!?" He exclaimed loudly.

His reaction, however, was quickly ignored as Yuzu reacted next.

"Y-Y-Y-YUYA!?" She screamed, "W-W-W-W-W-WHAT ARE Y-Y-YOU DOING HERE!?" She stuttered as her face turned a dark red.

"I-I-I was…!" Yuya started to stutter, but Yuzu's mind ended up going elsewhere.

"_Oh, Yuya…"_

"_Yuzu… I lo-"_

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Yuzu suddenly shrieked, her imagination running completely wild, and causing her face to burn even hotter than before.

"H-H-HOW FAR DID WE GO!?" She suddenly yelled at Yuya, rapidly embracing herself as her imagination continued to implant ideas of her and Yuya committing acts of naughtiness in the night, into her mind.

"W-W-What do you-I mean, n-no! We didn't…!" Yuya started to say, quickly understanding what she was implying.

Yuzu's mind, however, could no longer take it.

"GET OUT!" She screamed, grabbing her paper fan and smacking Yuya across the face with it, and sending him flying off of the bed.

The door to Yuzu's room suddenly opened, "Hey, Yuya are you in he-" said the voice of Yugo.

_CRASH_

"AGH!" Yugo yelled as his brother crashed into him, sending them both flying out of the room.

"Out! OUT!" Yuzu screamed as both boys scrambled to their feet, shut the door, and ran.

Yuzu dropped the fan, her face still darker than even her hair.

"Ahhhh…" Yuzu started to say, her voice getting louder.

"AHHHHHH!" Yuzu started to yell as she clutched her head.

"How far did we go!? What did we do!? What happened last night!?" She yelled to herself as she grabbed a pillow and started to squeeze it in her excitement.

"Argh! Why can't I remember anything about last night!" She yelled angrily, her breathing hard and fast, "Do I even WANT to remember it!?" She asked herself.

…

"I WANT TO REMEMBER IT!" She screamed into her pillow, before starting to vent the rest of her frustration by squealing into her pillow.

Meanwhile, downstairs…

"WE ALL HAVE HANGOVERS THANKS TO YOU!" Yelled the angry voice of Serena.

"YEAH, IT'S AWESOME!" Yuri yelled back.

"No…" Yuto grumbled from nearby, "It really isn't…" he groaned.

"So, I found Yuya in Yuzu's room…" Yugo said as he and Yuya came downstairs.

Yuri's face brightened, "Well? What happened?" Yuri immediately asked, Serena simply scoffed, but showed interest nonetheless, while Yuto's face paled.

"N-Nothing much…" Yuya said with a blush on his face.

"Oh come on! You were in the same bed toge-Ow! My head…" Yugo started to say before clutching his head painfully, all thanks to the hangover of course.

"Ooh! Did my little brother finally lose his V-Card?" Yuri asked excitedly, either unaffected by his hangover, or somehow ignoring it.

"W-What! No!" Yuya quickly exclaimed, "Of course not!" He yelled.

Both Yuto and Serena let out sighs of relief.

Both Syrup and Soul walked into the room, Syrup was rubbing her throat tenderly, while Soul looked… exactly like he usually looks, except with messier hair, and considerably darker bags under his eyes.

"Why is my throat so sore…?" Syrup muttered hoarsely, her voice rough as though she had lost it.

"You were laughing hysterically for no reason, for like an hour…" Soul replied bluntly.

"So what did you guys do then? Other then cuddle, obviously" Yugo asked.

Yuya's mind suddenly flashed to the night before, his memory of the night becoming clearer.

"_Do you… mind if we kiss… again…?"_

His face turned red, and everyone else in the room leaned forward in curiosity.

"…It doesn't matter…" Yuya finally said, "She doesn't remember it anyway, she was completely drunk last night…" he said as he sat down and held his head.

"You CANNOT leave it like that!" Yelled the voice of Rin, who had suddenly appeared in the room without anybody noticing her. Something noticeable on her though, there was a small, purple bruise on her neck.

"Rin… is that…?" Yugo started to ask.

"A hickey? Yup," Rin said bluntly, "And I have NO idea who gave me it, so yeah, really made me feel a lot better after waking up outside, in a bush…" she said with a harsh voice.

"I… woke up in the middle of the backyard…" Yugo muttered.

"Hm? What was that?" Rin asked.

"NOTHING" Yugo quickly yelled.

"What happened between me and Yuzu, again, doesn't matter…" Yuya said as he stood up, "We were both drunk, and she doesn't remember it, which is probably for the best, anyways…" Yuya said before walking back upstairs and into his room, shutting the door behind him.

Everyone remained silent.

"Well…" Yuri broke the silence, "That sucks…" he said bluntly.

* * *

A few days had passed since then, and whenever Yuya and Yuzu were in the room, you could practically feel the awkward vibes coming off of them.

However, the news they would be given today would temporarily cause that awkwardness to vanish completely.

"Alright class, I have some big news…" Yuma said from the front of his class, both Yuya and Yuzu were fidgeting in their seats, being right next to each other after all, and though it would never be enough for Kurosaki to find out what was going on, he was getting increasingly suspicious.

Yugo, who had already fallen asleep, got himself a painful stomp to his foot to wake him up (courtesy of Rin).

Yuri yawned, Serena was already paying close attention, and Yuto and Ruri promptly stopped talking in order to listen.

Yuma, though he would never admit it, would always get a nice feeling whenever he actually got the attention of his class.

Yuma cleared his throat, "As you know, a few months ago, we had the first round of the Arc-Evolution Tournament!" He started off.

Did he still have everyone's attention? Yes? Okay, good.

Well, we now have a date for the next part of the tournament to start!" He revealed, causing cheers and murmurs to shoot through the classroom.

Ah… don't you just love it when you bring happiness to a classroom?

"At the start of the next semester, there will be a school-wide field trip to where the next part of the tournament will take place!" Yuma exclaimed as Kotori turned on a projector behind him, showing a map of the world.

"It will take place here, on the man-made island, Maiami Island," Kotori explained, pointing at a spot in the ocean on the map, causing the screen to zoom in on the area, revealing a fairly large, man-made island in the area.

"Maiami Island? Seriously?" Yugo exclaimed, the other students in the class equally surprised.

**Maiami Island, a man-made island with a population of 1,500.**

"You will all be staying here…" Astral said as he took over, Kotori took a remote and pressed a button, switching the screen's image from a map to a high-definition picture of a large skyscraper.

"Your roommates will be the same people you are rooming with as of right now," Astral continued, "There are a variety of different facilities, which are all listed in the permission slips." Astral finished.

"P-Permission slips…?" Yuzu said nervously, Yuya raised an eyebrow in response. Yuzu's sisters were showcasing similar reactions.

"When you get the chance, please send these slips to your parents or guardians," Kotori said as she started to hand out the sheets of paper, excitement immediately began to course through the classroom, conversations breaking out in every single area.

"Aw, sweet! They have a huge pool!"

"5-Star Restaurant!? Seriously!?"

"This is gonna be awesome!"

"Well, looks like we'll be having some fun soon…" Yuri said to Serena.

Serena scoffed, "If we can even go…" she muttered under her breath.

Kurosaki suddenly appeared, he gave Yuri a glare, something that Yuri gladly returned. "Serena, give me your slip," he said firmly, "I'll make sure a signature gets on it."

Serena slapped the paper into his hand, and Shun went off to get the other permission slips from his sisters.

"…I really hate that guy…" Yuri muttered with a venomous tone.

"What's that about?" Yugo asked as Kurosaki took Rin's paper, Rin sighed, "Let's just say that our dad is… strict…" she said cryptically, she started ignoring Yugo completely before he could ask her anything else.

Meanwhile, Yuto was asking Ruri a similar question.

"Ruri?" Yuto said curiously.

"Umm… our dad isn't easy to convince when it comes to events like this…" Ruri said nervously, Yuto decided not to press the topic any further.

* * *

In a dark room, a dark-skinned, bald man stood next to a computer, watching a video on the large screen that could hardly even be made out thanks to the constant flare of static in the video.

"_Thi- -ds -w, Z-!"_

"_D-N Y-!"_

"_I'm so-y…"_

"_It -nt e- - thi-!"_

"_-hat!?"_

"_I -ill w- -his, R-!"_

"_N-!"_

The remainder of the video faded to static, with the faded sound of monsters roaring behind the static.

The man sighed and closed the video, bringing up another screen and calling a contact labeled "The Doctor".

"I trust you've done what I've asked of you?" The bald man said after The Doctor answered the call.

"Of course…" Said the slightly-giddy voice of The Doctor from the screen.

"Good, we must confirm that HE resides within those boys…" The bald man said before promptly hanging up the call.

"Ray… It won't be much longer now…" The bald man said to himself, clenching his fists.

**HOO BOY, it's done! And now, time to talk.**

**Not as much action in this chapter, mostly fluff between everyone and chapters where it's just… life, are gonna happen often, at least that's what I plan to do.**

**First action with Atem though. Inspiration was taken from Season 0 Yugi, and yes, Atem is, in fact, the strongest duelist, and he's a duelist who doesn't transform (or does he?)**

**I actually spent quite a long time deciding on a play for this chapter, ideas were things like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, and an original play that I would have to think up. Eventually decided on Romeo and Juliet though, I might even make an official Romeo and Juliet Yugioh oneshot one day.**

**Also, Yugioh Vrains…**

**AI ARE YOU THE VILLAIN NOW!? NOOOOO**

**BUT DAMN YOU LOOK GOOD, AND I WANNA LEARN IGNISTERS FOR MR4 NOW**

**Melodious: Oh no, HE'S HOOOOOT**

**OddEyes: PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER WOMAN, IT'S A FICTIONAL CHARACTER.**

**See you all next time!**

**(P.S. Official name change for this fanfic, it is no longer just United Duelists Academy, it is Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, United Duelists Academy)**


	12. Chapter 12: A Broken Soul

**It's been a while, hasn't it.**

**Does a fanfiction count as Rated M if there's blood in it?**

**Sorry about the long hiatus, I hit writer's block during the making of this chapter and I just felt like I needed a break for the summer.**

**Then Summer ended, and I somehow ended up with a PS4, and I have since then devoted way too much time to Persona 5.**

**And just wait till I get Persona 3 and 4, I'll just vanish off the face of the planet, and that's not even counting when Persona 5 Royal comes out.**

**Chapter 12: A Broken Soul**

"Woohoo! Field trip!" Yugo exclaimed as everyone in his class stood in front of a large private jet.

"Calm down, you spazz…" Yuri groaned as he wheeled in both his luggage and Yugo's luggage, "you would have forgotten all of your shit if it weren't for me…" he groaned.

"Oh! Shit, thanks!" Yugo panicked as he took his luggage from a very annoyed Yuri.

Meanwhile, the girls were talking amongst each other…

"I'm just saying, being bitten on the neck by a vampire is definitely hot!" Rin said angrily.

"I can see the appeal… but if you're bitten by a vampire, doesn't that make you a vampire?" Ruri asked.

"If a vampire was gonna bite me, I'd bet it would be like, really tragic!" Rin explained, "Like, he couldn't control himself anymore, and I was his only source of relief!" She said dreamily.

"Why are you so obsessed with necks?" Serena asked, "Is it because of the hickey?" She asked.

Rin frowned, "I still haven't figured out who sucked on my neck that night, and yeah, I think it's influencing me in some way…" she explained as she rubbed her neck.

Rin had wrapped her neck in a white bandages to avoid people seeing the purple love-bruises on her neck.

"What about you, Yuzu?" Ruri asked.

Yuzu's face flushed, "I-I don't even know what happened that night!" She exclaimed, "I woke up with Yuya in my bed! I don't even know how far we went!" She hissed.

"Well… he had already taken your first kiss, so don't worry about that…" Serena said with a smug grin.

"That doesn't count! We were acting!" Yuzu yelled as her face burned, "And stop talking about that! I-It's not like I like him or anything!" She yelled.

Everyone stared at her like she was some kind of exotic animal.

"What?" She asked.

"You are like… the epitome of the tsundere race…" Serena groaned.

**Pigtails: Check**

**Short Skirt: Check**

**Thigh-Highs: Check**

**Adorable Blush-Face: Check**

"**I-It's not like I like him or anything!" Quote: Check**

**Volatile Temper: Check**

"I-I'm not a tsundere!" Yuzu declared angrily.

"Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that…" Rin said under her breath.

Meanwhile, Yuya was talking with Yuto.

"So how far did you go with Yuzu?" Yuto asked.

"N-NOTHING, NOTHING HAPPENED!" Yuya exclaimed.

Yuto raised an eyebrow suspiciously, Yuya felt like he suddenly carried three-tons of weight on his shoulders.

"F-Fine!" Yuya gave up, "S-She… kissed me… again…" he whispered.

"That's all?" Yuto asked.

"Yes! I swear!" Yuya exclaimed.

Yuto sighed, "Well that's fine then… I was just afraid that my baby brother got too drunk and lost his virginity early on…" Yuto explained.

"E-Excuse me!? I was more sober than you!" Yuya yelled.

Yuto averted his eyes as memories of the "incident" flooded into his head, he vaguely remembered that he was bawling his eyes out for… some reason.

Soul and Syrup walked over, Syrup was clutching her throat tenderly.

"_I can't wait for this field trip to start!" _Syrup rasped.

"What's wrong with your voice!?" Both Yuya and Yuto yelled.

Soul sighed, "She yelled too much on 'that' night…" he explained, "It's finally caught up to her, she's lost her voice…" he said lazily.

"_Don't worry!" _Syrup spoke with a raspy voice, "_I heard that Tea mixed with Honey and Lemon helps… apparently they have that on the plane…!" _She struggled to get the entire sentence out her mouth.

"Well…" Yuto cleared his throat, "back to what I was talking about with Yuya… so she doesn't remember?" He asked.

"Not a thing!" Yuya exclaimed, "But every time I'm near her, it gets so awkward!" He yelled.

"Well… women are weird, I guess…" Soul said in an attempt to comfort the boy, only to get a hard smack in the back of his head, courtesy of Syrup.

_Meanwhile…_

Kurosaki walked over to his sisters, "I got your forms signed and handed them in, so you four are good to go…" he explained.

"Brother… did you…?" Ruri started to ask.

"No, I did not forge dad's signature…" he interrupted, "Just… trust me, okay?" He asked.

His sisters nodded nervously.

What Shun HAD done was give the papers over to Reiji, who then got a signature from his mother put on the papers. He had never met the lady, but she was technically his and his sister's step-mother.

"Alright, everyone!" Yuma called from the door of the jet, "Everyone line up, single-file, and find a seat here!" He yelled.

Though he had said "Single-file", what actually happened was literally every student attempting to cram themselves into the jet by force, regardless of Yuma's desperate yelling.

"N-No! Guys…! Single-file…!" Yuma tried to yell as he was trampled by his own class.

"Hey…" a voice from inside the plane caused everyone to freeze.

"Single-file… _or else…" _spoke Kotori as she stared at them with what SEEMED like a kind face, but everyone knew it was a face that screamed "do as I say or death will be the least of your problems.''

And in a single instant, everyone was calmly walking into the jet in a single-file line.

* * *

In the rush to get onto the plane, Yuya had panicked and just sat down at the first seat he saw.

Unfortunately, that seat just HAD to be next to Yuzu…

"So… uhh…" Yuya mumbled, "whats up?" He asked innocently.

"N-Nothing much…" Yuzu replied.

_Awkward silence…_

"So, uh…" Yuzu broke the silence, "About last night…" she said nervously.

Yuya gulped, "Y-Yeah…?" He replied.

"How… far did we go?" She asked nervously, "Please be honest with me…" she said as she twiddled her thumbs.

Yuya gulped.

"We… we didn't do… _it… _if that's what you're worried about…" he said calmly, "I promise…" he added for good measure.

"Okay… I'll trust you…" Yuzu replied.

_Another awkward silence…_

"What… did we do?" Yuzu finally asked.

A voice inside of Yuya's head told him not to tell her, but another told him to just tell her the truth.

He looked at Yuzu's face, she stared at him with wide, worried eyes.

He couldn't lie to that face…

"You were… really drunk…" Yuya started, "you dragged me into bed before I could leave, and you… said something about how the kiss in Romeo and Juliet was fun…" he explained.

Yuzu gulped, "Keep… keep going…" she said nervously.

"You… kissed me…" Yuya finally said, "then you passed out because of the alcohol…" he finished.

Yuzu's face burned, as did Yuya's.

Yuya's brothers, Yuzu's sisters, Soul, Syrup, Sora, and Gongenzaka were listening VERY intently.

"I see…" Yuzu finally said.

_More silence…_

"Well… that's good to know…" Yuzu finally said.

"Do… do you hate me?" Yuya asked.

"No! Of course not!" Yuzu exclaimed, "I-It's just… we're still friends, right?" She asked nervously.

"O-Of course!" Yuya exclaimed, "T-that is… if you want us to still be… friends…" Yuya said nervously.

Yuzu's face brightened, "Yeah… we were just drunk for the first time, let's leave it at that…" she said with a smile, extending her hand towards him for a handshake.

Yuya smiled back, "Yeah, let's just leave it at that…" he said as he took her hand and shook it firmly.

Soul stared at them with a look of curiosity, "well… that went well… a little disappointed though…" he admitted.

Their hands separated at last, allowing them to put their backs to each other and react in their own way.

Yuya clutched his chest and took gasped for air, "Oh my god… that was stressful…!" he wheezed under his breath.

Yuzu grabbed a pillow and squealed into it, "_I-I-I K-Kissed him!?" _She thought frantically, "_Oh my god… my heart is gonna explode…!" _She thought as her heart thumped rapidly in her chest.

It was gonna be a long flight…

* * *

Soul stared at his phone, the plane having free-wifi, something that was a welcome surprise.

He was looking at the search results for "Drake Fenice"

There was a large headline at the top, and he was debating whether to open the link or not.

"**UDA Prodigy, Drake Fenice, tragically passes away while saving innocents in a hostage situation"**

"Hey, Syrup?" Soul started, "Your ex… his name is Drake Fenice, right?" He asked.

Syrup, who had been staring out the window in wonder, looked back at him.

"Why so interested?" She joked, "Yeah, that's his name, why?" She asked.

Soul showed her his screen.

Syrup looked at it for a moment, her facial expression remained unchanged.

"Different Drake…" she finally said.

"Hm?" Said Soul.

"That's not my Drake," she said again, "now stop asking me about my ex…" she said firmly before turning her back to him.

Soul looked at his screen, there was an image of the boy who apparently passed away, he matched Syrup's description fairly well… and Drake Fenice isn't exactly a common name.

"Well… whatever, I guess…" he said as he put the phone away.

* * *

"Hey! Look at that!" Yugo yelled as he pressed his face up against the window.

"I can't see anything with your big, fat head in the way!" Yuri snapped as he attempted to look out the same window.

Yuto took off a sleep-mask and glared at them, "Shut up…" he groaned.

Soul didn't bother to take off his sleep-mask, but he glared at the direction of the commotion and spoke, "Oi! Shut up, I'm trying to sleep here!" He snapped.

Out of their window, was a beautiful island with golden beaches, tall and shining skyscrapers, and perfectly glimmering, blue water all around.

"Amazing…!" Yuya gasped as he and Yuzu looked out the window.

"Gongenzaka! You're blocking the window with your body!" Sora exclaimed nearby, causing the sound of Gongenzaka frantically attempting to move out of the way to fill the aircraft.

"Attention, everyone!" Yuma suddenly called out as he walked along the plane's hallway, "As you can see, we've just about reached our destination!" He said with a… suspicious smile.

A click suddenly resonated throughout the plane, Yuri looked down at his seatbelt and realized that it was locked in, and that he couldn't open it.

"Hm… huh…? Are we here already…?" Kotori groaned as she began to wake up as well.

She too, was locked into her seat.

"Now… I only have one question…" Yuma said mischievously, "Everyone here can fly in some way, correct? If you can, raise your hand…" he said calmly.

Everyone in the class had undergone and passed the class when it came to utilizing the power of flight, even if they didn't have a monster who could naturally fly.

Everyone raised their hands, some nervously.

"Good, good…" Yuma said as he placed his hands behind his head, "Now I only have three things to say to you then…" he said with a grin, "Go for the beach, put anything you don't wanna lose in either your bag or your pocket… and don't crash into a building!" he said as he looked like he was about to burst into laughter.

"Wait… what's that supposed to mean?" Yugo asked as Yuri started to frantically try and unlock his seatbelt.

Kotori's eyes suddenly widened, "Wait-YUMA, I'M STILL IN MY SEAT!" She started to scream.

Everyone took that as a sign to put whatever they had in their hands (phone's and the like) in either the bag under their seat, or their pockets.

"And with that! Have a great day!" Yuma said cheerfully as he pulled out a remote with a big red button.

He pressed it.

The floor beneath everyone's seats suddenly vanished, dropping everyone out of the plane.

"WHAT THE FUUUUuuuuu…" Yugo's screams quickly vanished as the plane began to empty.

"YUMA WAIT!" Kotori screamed before falling out of the plane as well.

"Huh!? Kotori!?" Yuma exclaimed as he looked behind him, the floor closing up in the areas where it had opened up.

"_She tried to tell you that she was still strapped in…" _Astral chimed.

"SHIT!" Yuma yelled as he ran towards a seat that HADN'T fallen out of the plane, sat in it, strapped himself in, and pressed the button again, causing him to fall out of the plane again.

_Meanwhile…_

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Yugo screamed as they fell through the sky, the seat unlocking and allowing them to fall out of them, into a complete freefall.

Soul opened his eyes as he looked around him.

"Oh…" he muttered, "this shit again…" he groaned before closing his eyes again.

"OUR LIVES ARE IN IMMINENT DANGER, WAKE UP!" Syrup screamed at him.

"KYAAAAA!" Yuzu screamed as she clung to Yuya as they fell, "Y-YUZU, LET GO! WE NEED TO TRANSFORM!" Yuya screamed as they continued to fall.

"YUMAAAAAAA!" Kotori screamed as she fell through the air, "YOU ARE SO DEAD!" She yelled.

"SOMEBODY THROW SOMETHING AT SOUL!" Syrup yelled as she fell below Soul.

"Fine! Fine! I'm up…" Soul groaned as he flew through the air towards Yugo, promptly latching onto him.

"Hurry up and transform…" he groaned lazily.

"The hell!? I'm not your personal taxi!" Yugo yelled as he surrounded himself in white light, transforming into Clear Wing, and basically allowing Soul to hitch a ride.

Meanwhile, Yuma transformed into Hope and flew towards Kotori, promptly catching her.

"Yuma, you idiot!" She yelled as she laid in the Xyz Monster's large arms, "You know I'm afraid of heights!" She yelled.

"I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" Yuma yelled as he flew the green-haired girl to safety.

Eventually, everyone (except Soul) transformed and flew down to the beach below them, where Yuma awaited.

Everyone collapsed on the sand beneath them, most gasping for air as the panic slowly left their bodies.

"Well, I assume you're all awake now?" Yuma joked.

What he earned from that, was a series of glares.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Yuma said, "It was good flying practice, and a good way to steel your nerves!" He said optimistically.

The glares did not decrease in intensity, in fact, they got worse.

Yuma sweatdropped, "W-Well would you look at that! The bus is here!" He exclaimed as he pointed at a large bus that pulled up nearby, "Your bags and belongings will be delivered to your room before you even arrive! So don't worry about that!" He said cheerfully.

They still glared at him, but at least they might forgive him later…

* * *

"Whoa! Look at this place!" Yuya exclaimed as they stood at the entrance of a large skyscraper, and probably the most luxurious hotel they would ever see.

"Yuya? Is that you?"

Yuya turned around to see a familiar voice.

"Kachidoki?" Yuya asked as he turned around.

It was indeed Kachidoki, he smiled as he extended a hand for a handshake, "long time no see!" He said with a smile.

"Yeah! How are you doing?" Yuya said cheerfully.

Everyone stared at the two as if they were aliens, "The last time you guys met, you were fighting brutally…" was what all of them were thinking, or at least, something along the lines.

"Good, though I spent quite a lot of time recovering from our fight," he explained, "we still don't know what my sudden power-up was about… but it nearly killed me…" he said.

"Seriously…?" Yuya asked with a look of concern.

Kachidoki grinned, "Yeah, if you hadn't beaten me, I would have been in trouble," he said, "you really saved my ass, thanks!" He said with a bow.

"_Why are these two getting along so well!?" _Yuya's brothers each thought simultaneously.

"Anyways, I'm merely a spectator now," he said as he stood up straight again, "but it's you that I'll be rooting for… you opened my eyes, after all…" he said with a smile.

Yuya smiled back at him, "I appreciate it! Thanks!" He said with a grin.

Yuzu looked at Kachidoki nervously as he walked away, "I… can't say I expected that…" she said as Yuya waved.

* * *

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

"I said no…"

Rin was currently in a wall-slam situation, yet again.

This had actually happened quite a lot since the first time… and you could now accurately predict what would happen next.

First: Yaiba would wall-slam Rin in order to ask her out.

"Come on! It's not like you're dating anybody else!" Yaiba pleaded.

Second: Rin turns him down.

"No! I don't want to!" Rin declared as she attempted to get away from the boy.

Third: Yugo arrives.

"Hey! Get away from her!" Yugo said angrily as he pushed Yaiba away from Rin.

"Huh!? You again!?" Yaiba yelled back as the two butted heads.

"Stop asking Rin out! She said no!" Yugo exclaimed.

"What, it's not like you're her boyfriend or anything, so stay out of it!" Yaiba yelled back.

Fourth: Shun Kurosaki.

Suddenly, both boys were grabbed and lifted off the ground by their shirt-collars.

And they ended up face-to-face with Shun.

"Listen here…" Shun growled, "my sisters are off the table… so _fuck off_" he said menacingly.

"Y-Yes sir…" they both said sheepishly.

"Sheesh… talk about a sister complex…" Yuri muttered under his breath.

"What was that!?" Shun yelled in Yuri's direction.

"NOTHING, SHUT UP!" Yuri yelled back.

* * *

Yuto sighed as he took Yugo off of Shun's hands, "You know, you should really trust my brothers a little more…" he said exasperatedly.

Shun scoffed, "They haven't given me a reason to…" he said defiantly.

"I didn't when we first met," Yuto pointed out, "yet you trusted me… why?" He asked.

Shun thought for a moment, "I don't know… somehow I just felt like I could trust you…" he said with a confused look on his face.

Yuto frowned, but then grinned, "Well… thanks…" he said with a smile, "Yuri might be a dick sometimes, and Yugo can be a little dumb…" he said as he watched Yugo walk back to Yuya and Yuri, "but they're still my brothers, and I trust them with my life" he finished.

Shun stared at him, he could tell he was sincere.

"I'll think about it…" he finally said, "what about Yuya?" He asked.

Yuto chuckled, "Honestly… he's the best out of all of us…" Yuto explained, "we've been through a lot, us brothers, but we never could have gotten through it without Yuya" said Yuto.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shun asked.

Yuto chuckled, "It's a long story, forget about it…" Yuto said mysteriously, "I wish you luck in the tournament, even if we end up facing off once more" Yuto said with a grin.

Shun grinned back, "If we do fight, you better not hold anything back." Shun said as he extended his hand.

Yuto grinned, "I expect the same from you, Kurosaki." Yuto said as he took the hand and shook it firmly.

Meanwhile, Ruri looked at the two and smiled, "It's good to see that you're getting along with someone, brother…" she said with a smile.

* * *

"Whoa!" Yuya exclaimed as he and his brothers entered a large hotel room with his brothers, "Is this… is this seriously just a hotel room!?" He said as they looked around.

Two bathrooms, four bedrooms, a large living room, and an incredibly large balcony.

And all of their bags and belongings were already in the room.

"I never thought I would ever be in a hotel this luxurious…" Yugo said as he relaxed into one of the couches.

"Hey, that door connects to the room nextdoor, right?" Yuri asked, pointing to a large door against the wall.

"Yeah, apparently Ruri and the others are in that one," Yuto said as he opened the door.

There was another door, but with no handle.

"What's with that?" Yugo asked.

"They have a door as well, both doors have to be opened from each side" Yuto explained as he knocked on the door.

"Hello?" Yuto asked as he knocked.

A moment passed, and the door was opened by Ruri.

"Oh! So that's what this door is for!" Ruri said as the connection between both rooms was opened.

"Doesn't that just make this just one huge room?" Yuya asked.

"Technically yes, but we're closing our door at night, you got it?" Serena said as she suddenly appeared and walked into the boys side.

"Yes ma'am!" Yuri suddenly spoke up, surprising all of his brothers.

Soon enough, everyone was in the boys side of the room.

"Have you guys seen the tournament brackets yet?" Rin asked as she waved a paper above her head, everyone crammed in front of her to see.

"Whoa… Soul and Syrup have the first match?" Yuzu pointed out.

Indeed, it was Soul and Syrup in the first match.

"Who are they fighting?" Yuya asked.

"A team called… The Feared?" Serena said as she read the paper out loud, "Are they scary or just really edgy?" She asked sarcastically.

"Hey, what's with all of these same-name teams?" Yuri asked while ignoring Serena's comment, "There's like, three Obelisk Forces and three Sector Securities…" he pointed out.

"Are the other schools like, trying to increase their chances of winning?" Ruri asked, "Is that even allowed?" She asked as they stared at the paper.

"I mean, there's no rule saying you can't do that…" said Yugo.

"Who are we fighting?" Yuya said, asking the important questions, really.

"Let's see… 'The Holy Trinity' is listed next to us…" Yuto read out loud.

"Hah! Sounds like their egos are showing!" Yuri taunted.

"Like you're one to talk, Yuri!" Serena exclaimed with a scoff.

"What was that, bitch?" Yuri snapped.

"What did you just call me, dipshit?" Serena growled in return.

Everyone collectively agreed to ignore them.

"Who are we fighting?" Yuzu asked.

"Let's see… one of the Academia teams, Obelisk Force #2" Yuya replied.

"I wonder what their deal is…" Yuri said as the girls suddenly went silent.

"Hey, look at the back of the paper!" Rin said in an attempt to change the subject, and prompting the group to turn the paper over.

What was on the paper was a paragraph of text.

_All students must be present at 8:00 AM for roll call at the assembly hall, where you will line up in front of your homeroom teacher. You may use the time outside of this in whatever way you wish, but you must be back in your rooms by 10.00 PM. The first bracket of the tournament begins tomorrow at 12:00 PM, please talk to your homeroom teacher for more details. The hotel restaurant will provide a free meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but if you eat at any other place on the island, you will have to pay with your own money._

"What else does it say?" Yuri asked as Yuto finished reading the text for everyone.

"It just has a list of the hotel's facilities…" Yuto said as they looked down at the bottom of the paper.

_Facilities in the hotel include:_

_Swimming Pool_

_Restaurant_

_Real-Solid-Vision Training Room_

_Various Gift Shops_

The list went on and on for quite a while, actually.

"Wow, look at all of the stuff here!" Yuzu said excitedly, "We still have time left in the day, right? Let's go out and walk around!"

And so, it was decided on what the group's activities would be.

* * *

"Hey Yuya, look at this!" Yuri said with a mischievous grin on his face.

Yuri was standing next to a restaurant with its menu on display, he had his signature grin and was oddly excited.

"Look…!" Yuri said as he snickered, he pointed at something on the drink menu.

_THIS WEEK'S SPECIAL: Yuzu Juice_

Yuya choked for a moment while Yuri burst out laughing, meanwhile Yuzu's face turned bright red before smacking both of them with a paper fan.

"S-Shut up! It's not my fault I'm named after a fruit!" She said indignantly.

Yuri continued to laugh, "Y-Yuya! You should get some!" He said through his fit of giggles, "Then you can tell us all about what Yuzu _tastes like-_" he managed to get out before he got another smack across the back of his head.

"S-Shut up!" Yuzu yelled once more.

Yuto and Yugo both decided to hide their blushes from the rest of the group, blushes caused by Yuri's sexual innuendo. "O-Oh hush, Yuri… that's inappropriate…" Yuto said as he put an arm up to cover his face.

"Y-Yeah! Stop being a p-pervert, Yuri!" Yugo said as he turned and faced the other direction.

"Hypocrite" all of the girls said at once, Yugo fell over in response.

Serena looked over at Yuya, his face was almost as red as his hair, giving her an idea…

"Hey, Yuzu!" She called out, "You should find some tomato juice! Then you'll know what Yuya tastes like as well!" She called out.

"Huh?" Yuzu said as she looked over at Yuya.

It was then that she noticed what his hair resembled.

If you really looked at it with the idea of a tomato, you could definitely see the resemblance.

After realizing the context behind the joke, her face went bright red as well, giving the group two blushing messes to deal with.

Ruri pulled on Serena's ear, "Is Yuri a bad influence on you?" She asked as Serena tried to keep a straight face.

"To be perfectly honest, I think we're both bad influences on each other…" Serena answered honestly.

"Guilty as charged…" Yuri said as Yuto pulled on his ear as well.

Rin decided that it was probably a good idea to change the subject, luckily, she found the perfect thing.

"Hey, is that Syrup and Soul?" She asked, pointing at the two in question nearby.

Everyone turned their heads, apparently those two were going to be in the first match of the first bracket.

Soul was talking with a tiny old man while Syrup looked… nervous, for some reason.

"Let's go say hi!" Yuya said after shaking his head to get his mind off of Yuri's "joke".

Yuzu did the same, "Y-Yeah!" She said as she and Yuya ran off, a shit-eating grin still etched on Yuri's face.

"What's going on?" Yuya asked as they arrived at the scene, Syrup gave them all a worried glance, "_Apparently… he's Soul's grandpa…" _she rasped while rubbing her throat, still unable to speak properly.

"His grandpa?" Yugo asked as he arrived next to them, "Hey, come to think of it… what was Soul's last name again?" Yugo asked.

"_Um… it was Mess… Messo… Messora…" _Syrup tried to say while trying to remember what his last name was. They had actually never known what Soul's surname was.

"Messoran," Soul cut her off suddenly, "my last name is Messoran, now let your voice rest…" he said with an exasperated look on his face.

"Messoran?" Said Yuri, "Where have I heard that name before…" he wondered out loud.

"Soul!" The old man suddenly spoke up, "I am telling you this for your own good! Keeping that power sealed like that is going to have repercussions!" He said loudly, "And your way of dealing with grief is unhealthy! You must-" he continued to rant.

"Oh shuddup…" Soul hissed, his glare colder than usual, "I'll deal with that bridge when I get to it…" he said with a cold glare, "And who are you to lecture me on grief?" He hissed.

The old man flinched and looked down at the ground, "I… see you still haven't forgiven us…" he said with a sad look on his face.

Soul's face softened slightly, but it returned to it's cold glare as Soul answered his grandfather, "No, no I haven't…" he said before turning and walking away. "I wanna be alone!" He yelled back at Syrup, who reluctantly nodded.

"_Best… to let him calm… first…" _She explained in her raspy voice.

The old man smiled at her, "I see you are Soul's friend… It's good to see that he still tries to be with people…" he said before walking away as well.

"AAAH!" Yuri suddenly yelled, "Messoran! I seriously forgot about that!?" Yuri exclaimed after the old man had left.

"What's up?" Serena asked.

"The Messoran Family!" Yuri exclaimed, "Ritual Monsters ringing any bells!?" He yelled.

Everyone except Yuya, Yugo, and Syrup, suddenly reacted in the same way Yuri did.

"Wait, there's no way!"

"We wouldn't have missed something like that!"

"Sorry, am I the only one lost here?" Yugo piped up with a confused look on his face, "No, I'm lost as well…" Yuya replied.

"Do you two ever pay attention in class?" Yuzu scolded, "The Messoran Family is a RITUAL family! One of the biggest ones in the world, actually!" Yuzu explained.

"Ritual Family?" Yuya and Yugo asked as their heads tilted to the side in confusion.

**We interrupt this program to give our viewers a brief lesson in Ritual Monsters and Ritual Families.**

**Ritual Monsters:**

**Unlike other monster types, Ritual Monsters are rare and require a special ritual in order to link them with oneself. Certain rituals are passed down the generations through the families of a Ritual Monster user, resulting in what we know as Ritual Families. Duelists gain the ability to use Ritual Monsters of a certain type after undergoing a specific ritual for that type (Examples: The Cyber Angel Ritual, which gives the user access to Cyber Angel Ritual Monsters), however sometimes, though rare, the spirit of a Ritual Monster will deem a duelist worthy of their power and give them the knowledge of their Ritual, allowing the duelist to use their power.**

**Ritual Families:**

**There aren't very many Ritual Families, but they are all known for the powerful abilities that are passed down the generations.**

Yuya and Yugo were each on their knees while Yuzu and Rin respectively berated them on their lack of attention in class.

"We studied this recently!" Yuzu scolded.

"You both are going to fail if you don't get your act together!" Rin berated.

"What ritual does Soul's family use then?" Ruri asked.

"The Messorans are very secretive…" Yuto replied, "apparently it's called the 'Blademaster's Ritual' or something…" he explained.

"Wait, doesn't that mean Soul can use Ritual Monsters?" Yuya asked after Yuzu finally let him off the hook with a mere smack with her paper fan.

"_But… only uses… Armed Dragon…" _Syrup rasped.

"Alright, somebody get this girl some tea or something, I can hardly understand her!" Serena declared angrily.

"His grandpa said something about Soul not forgiving them or something, you think he has a backstory?" Yuzu asked.

"Well, we shouldn't just speculate about it…" Yuri said exasperatedly, "Let's go get Syrup something for her throat, we can ask Soul about it later…" he said as he and Serena began to drag Syrup away.

_Meanwhile…_

Soul entered his hotel room and promptly fell onto his bed, exhausted.

He let out a loud sigh as he turned onto his back and brushed away the hair that usually covered his right eye, revealing a golden-colored eye, unlike his left eye, which was a blood-like crimson.

Although that wasn't even the strangest part, the pupil in his right eye was a lighter shade of gold then the rest of his eye, along with being the shape of a four-pointed star.

"How can I forgive them… when I can't even forgive myself…" he muttered as he slowly began to drift off into a deep sleep.

"_Why… WHY!?"_

"_For you… obviously…"_

* * *

The next day was hectic beyond belief.

It was, after all, the first day of the second round of the tournament.

"You better thank us!" Sora exclaimed as all eight of the boys and girls sat down in the spectator seats together, "Saving eight seats is hard, you know!" He said with a pout.

"Sorry!" Yuya apologized as his brothers fought for whichever seat was the "best".

"Do not worry, Sora is exaggerating," Gongenzaka came into the conversation, "we reserved these seats, they were safe the entire time." He explained.

"Hey! Quit ruining my joke!" Sora said with a pout as the Yuya chuckled.

"So, when are we gonna see Syrup and Soul fight?" Yugo asked.

"As soon as it starts, be patient!" Said Rin.

Suddenly, loud fireworks shot into the air above them, causing the crowd to go wild.

An explosion of brightly colored smoke erupted on a podium at the end of the stadium, revealing a tall man wearing a suit with yellow and black stripes, and a wide smile on his face.

"Goooood MORNING everybody!" He yelled into a microphone, "I'm your host, Nico Smiley!" He exclaimed as he twirled a bright-colored staff in one hand.

A helicopter suddenly flew overhead, a blonde woman wearing cowgirl attire standing inside it.

"And I'm your hostess! Melissa Claire!" She yelled into a microphone of her own.

"And welcome to the first Arc Evolution Tournament!" They yelled together as more explosions of brightly-colored smoke erupted from around the stadium.

"They really pulled out all the stops…" Yuto said with a grin.

"That Nico Smiley dude is creeping me out…" Rin muttered, "Yeah… how does he keep smiling like that?" Yuzu said in agreement.

Yugo, however, made a cat call in Melissa Claire's direction, "The cowgirl is pretty cute though-" he began to say before impending doom descended upon him…

_***CRUNCH***_

Yugo gasped for air as Rin's fist sunk deep into Yugo's stomach.

"_Is… is his stomach supposed to make that noise…?" _Everyone else thought simultaneously.

**Yugo-being-a-perv Counter: 3**

"What god… decided to bless you… with superhuman strength…?" Yugo gasped as he fell over.

Rin's face flushed, "S-shut up!" She yelled as she sat back down and pouted.

Ruri inched her face closer to Rin's.

"You aren't gonna steal his heart like that, you know…" she whispered.

"I'M NOT TRYING TO DO THAT!" Rin yelled as her face went into a tomato-level of red.

Yugo laid limply on the ground, foam coming out of his mouth as he twitched occasionally.

"_Rest in peace…" _all of the boys thought simultaneously, putting their hands together in a praying-fashion.

"I'm not dead yet… assholes…" Yugo groaned.

"Maybe we should we rename the 'Yugo-being-a-perv' counter to the 'Yugo-almost-fucking-dies' counter…" Yuri asked murmured.

"Huh?" Everyone said in unison.

"Huh? Never mind…" Yuri waved them off.

"Today we have the three highest-level of Duelist Academies gathered here today, as well as the headmasters who run them all!" Nico yelled as chairs began to rise up from behind him.

"Please welcome, the headmaster of Sector Academy… JEAN-MICHEL ROGER!" Melissa exclaimed as the smoke cleared around one of the chairs, revealing Roger to be sitting there with a smug grin on his face.

"And that's not all! Please welcome, the headmaster of Academia…" Nico continued, "LEO AKABA!" He exclaimed.

However, when the smoke cleared, nobody was sitting in that seat.

Everyone went silent.

Nico cleared his throat, "…Who ISN'T here with us today!" He exclaimed nervously.

"Seriously? What kind of shitty headmaster is this guy?" Yuri said with a shit-eating grin.

Unbeknownst to them, Yuzu and her sisters each let out a sigh of relief.

"But we do have someone who IS here!" Melissa declared as the smoke around the middle-chair began to clear.

"Please welcome… the headmaster of United Duelist's Academy… ATEM, and YUGI MOTO!" They both declared at the same time.

The yellow smoke cleared, revealing Atem sitting proudly in a fancy seat… and Yugi in a small stool next to him.

"They… couldn't get two fancy seats?" Atem asked.

Yugi laughed nervously, "I uhh… accidentally ordered three instead of four…" he said sheepishly.

Another echoing silence filled the area.

"Do you… want this seat? I can just stand…" Atem suggested.

"No… you can keep the seat…" Yugi said quietly.

"Yugi, it isn't a problem-"

"I SAID YOU CAN KEEP THE SEAT!"

Yugi blushed as he realized how loud he was.

"Kill me now…" he groaned.

Atem sweatdropped as well. "Forgive me… partner…" he said dramatically.

Roger let out a smug chuckle as the area was filled with deafening silence.

_Meanwhile, in the VIP area…_

"Man! I would not want to be in that situation!" Yuma laughed out loud.

"Grr…"

"EEP!" Yuma exclaimed as he realized he was standing next to a VERY pissed off Kaiba.

Heck, even all of the other teachers had wisely moved about 10 feet away from the blue-eyed time-bomb.

"_Observation: Certain humans are naturally viewed as a threat depending on their mood," _Astral said out loud, "_However, the ones who are the last to notice this threat, are usually the first in-line for natural selection…" _he said nonchalantly.

"Oh, shut it…" Yuma hissed as he scurried away from Kaiba as quickly as he could.

* * *

Soul removed the headphones he had in his ear and sighed, he had stopped listening to the announcers, who were now announcing him and Syrup, along with the opposing team.

He wasn't bothered enough to pay attention to their names, he just took one look at them.

"They look edgier than me…" Soul mumbled.

"You're not edgy, you're just lazy…" Syrup said with a pout.

"Hmph…" Soul said as he walked forward, "this is such a pain…" he said as he walked forward, "but considering this is the first match… it would be embarrassing to lose straight away…" he said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Does that mean you'll actually fight?" Syrup asked hopefully.

"Sure, sure…" Soul said as he stared down the other team, "don't expect me to get too serious, though…" he said calmly.

**The fight was SUPPOSED to start here, but considering how long it's been, and the fact that this is a pretty long chapter already, I'll just give you guys this and get to work on the fight right away.**

**And serious question here… should this story be rated M? Because Soul's backstory is a little… bloody, and that's all I'm gonna say.**


	13. Chapter 13: A Shattered Soul

**Right, y'all can answer me again on what the rating of this thing should be after this chapter, okay?**

**Chapter 13: A Shattered Soul**

"I'm sorry…!"

Soul as a young boy sat on his knees among the wreckage of what used to be his home, a girl around the same age in his arms, a hole in her chest.

He was covered in blood… HER blood…

"I-I didn't…!" he started to say as tears fell from his eyes, his right eye glowed with a golden light.

In his mind, he stopped seeing the wreckage, and he was suddenly sitting in a deep black void, with the girl in his arms.

The silhouette of a large, bipedal dragon stood in front of him, its eyes glowing green.

Young-Soul looked up at it, tears in his eyes.

"GET AWAY!" He screamed, "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing in the void around him.

The dragon continued to stare at him, looking almost… disappointed.

"Don't… don't look at me like that!" Soul screamed, "Because of you… BECAUSE OF YOU…!" He started to yell, choking on his own words.

The dragon growled softly, saying something that Soul seemed to understand.

Soul's breath hitched.

"You're right… this is my fault…!" Soul choked, "You're my power…! A power I couldn't control!" He screamed as he hugged the corpse in his arms.

He screamed at the top of his lungs, eventually passing out.

* * *

Soul now stood in front of Syrup, their first round in the tournament is about to start.

"Damn… why did I have to remember that shitty time…" Soul groaned as he rubbed his head.

He felt a small roar emanate inside him, causing him to grit his teeth.

"No… you're going to stay down there and behave…" he mumbled to himself.

* * *

"Allow us to explain the rules!" Melissa yelled as both teams walked to the center of the stadium, "The goal of this part of the tournament is to destroy a certain target!" She explained as the Real Solid Vision system powered up, a large white crystal appearing in the middle of the stadium.

"Your crystal's durability depends on how many team members you have!" Melissa explained, "The team with fewer members, in this case, team Soul/Syrup!" Melissa explained.

Nico took over, "The crystal's durability rises depending on the difference in members, and that's not all!" Nico continued, "The team with fewer members gets to move first, the duration of movement also being increased depending on the difference in members!" He explained.

"Soul, that means that we get a head start…" Syrup whispered, "We should take advantage of that and overwhelm them from the start…" she suggested.

Soul shook his head, "I'm a little wary of the members though… something about them is making me uneasy…" he muttered.

The leader of the team suddenly walked up to them, he looked like your classic punk with a mohawk, the other two behind him looking more like lackeys.

He sneered at them, but extended a hand, "Let's have a fair match…" the punk said with a sneer.

Soul stared back at him, concerned about the contradiction between his facial expressions and his actions.

Regardless, Soul took the hand.

Suddenly, Soul felt himself get yanked right up to the punk's face.

"You don't look too strong…" the punk said with his face too close to Soul's for comfort, "We're going to destroy you!" He declared loudly.

Soul simply stared back at him with his usual straight expression.

The lack of a reaction unnerved the punk, so he quickly let Soul go and went back to his team.

"What a jerk!" Syrup said as Soul returned to her side.

"He was measuring me up…" Soul said calmly, "Be wary of him…" he said to Syrup.

"The team with the least members will decide the stage!" Melissa declared, a small screen suddenly appearing in front of Soul.

"Hm… I don't know enough about these stages…" Soul muttered as Syrup looked over his shoulder, "I'll just pick this one…" he said as he tapped the screen.

"With that, the stage has been decided!" Melissa declared as the screen vanished from Soul's hands.

The stadium began to rumble and glow as the Real Solid Vision fired up, "Action Field: ON!" A robotic voice announced, "Field: Graveyard of Souls" it announced.

Both teams found themselves moved to opposite sides of the stadium, and the floor changed from clean and smooth to arid and dry.

"You picked a desert?" Syrup asked.

"I picked a battlefield…" Soul replied.

Suddenly, countless Real Solid-Vision swords fell from the sky, landing and sinking into the ground.

"It's a graveyard for the souls of a warrior… their blades…" Soul explained.

The field had become a large and arid plain, countless rusty and broken weapons lying around the area, strewn about wildly.

A large white crystal floated behind them, another one floating behind the enemy team.

"You stay back and defend the crystal… I'll handle offense," Soul said as he stretched his arms.

"Now, without further ado!" Melissa and Nico yelled at the same time, "Three! Two! One! DUEL!" They both announced, starting the duel.

A barrier appeared around the enemy team, keeping them in place, but no such thing appeared on Soul and Syrup's side.

"We're allowed to move first!" Syrup yelled.

Soul had already taken off running, "What a pain…!" Soul said as he dashed through the field.

He had made it halfway across the field when the barrier around the enemy team went down, allowing two out of three to dash to meet Soul, one being left behind to guard the crystal.

"We did our research!" The leader yelled as he ran forward, "You use a level monster! Those require time to really get going!" He yelled as he and his lackey began to glow and transform.

The leader glowed a brilliant white as he transformed, "Doomkaiser Dragon!" He yelled as he changed into a large undead dragon.

The lackey grasped an orange card, as did the lackey still at the crystal, "Come! Despair from the Dark!" They both yelled.

With that, the field was now filled with an undead dragon and two towering shadow-monsters.

"You lack imagination…" Soul said as he stopped running and held an orange card in his hand, "If you really know how to use level monsters, you don't have to wait at all…!" He said as he crushed the card in his hand.

"Armed Dragon, LEVEL 10!" Soul yelled as he transformed into a large armored dragon, almost dwarfing the other monsters on the field.

Meanwhile from the spectator seats…

"Huh!? Why doesn't he do that all the time then!?" Yugo yelled.

"Because it drains the user much more than simply waiting…" Yuto replied, "do you EVER listen in class?" He asked.

"Soul looks fine though…" Yuya pointed out.

Back on the battlefield, Soul was now charging up a large fireball in his mouth as Armed Dragon, aiming straight at the crystal on the other side of the stadium.

"_I got the chance to get closer… making it easier to aim…" _Soul thought as the two monsters charging at him tried to stop him from attacking.

"ARMED FIREBALL!" Soul yelled as he let loose the attack, sending a powerful ball of fire past the two monsters in front of him, and straight for the crystal.

The Despair from the Dark at the crystal immediately jumped in front of the attack, taking the full force of the fireball onto itself.

The monster staggered but ultimately managed to survive the attack.

"Then… how about another…" Soul started to say before suddenly, the Doomkaiser Dragon was latched onto his face.

"You may be big, but you're damn slow!" The dragon yelled as Soul fumbled around to try and remove the monster, "You surprised me with the sudden level 10… but you've just made our job easier!" He yelled.

The second Despair from the Dark wrapped its arms around Soul, "Grgh…!" Soul grunted as he found himself being overwhelmed.

The doomkaiser dragon placed its claws on Soul's head, while Despair from the Dark did the same with its large arms.

"Soul!" Syrup yelled as suddenly, all three monsters began to glow.

"Combo-move!" The two enemies yelled, "**Doomkaiser Despair!" **They both yelled.

Purple light suddenly covered the entire stadium, and a large explosion was heard.

When the light dissipated, Soul as Armed Dragon level 10 laid on the ground near Syrup, while Doomkaiser Dragon and Despair from the Dark stood where he once stood, gasping for air.

"Soul! Are you okay!?" Syrup yelled.

* * *

"Hey, what just happened?" Yuya asked.

"Ooh! Ooh! I know! I paid attention to this part in class!" Yugo suddenly exclaimed, "It's a combo move, basically two duelists use two monsters that are compatible with each other, and use this really awesome power right?" He said with a grin.

"Close, and also very vague," Rin replied, "It also requires both duelists to be at around the same strength, and it's incredibly complicated to use…" Rin explained.

"The fact they can use something like that means that they shouldn't be underestimated…" Yuto said as he stared at the battlefield, "Still, what did it do?" He asked.

* * *

Syrup watched as Soul suddenly reverted back to normal, yet he laid limp on the ground, and his eyes glowed a sinister purple.

"Soul?" Syrup asked as she tried to shake him awake, "Soul, this isn't the time to be sleeping!" Syrup said as she tried to get him up.

"It's no use!" The leader of the enemy team said as he slowly drew closer, "He's stuck in a world of despair now…" he said as he gave off a sinister grin, even in his monster form.

* * *

"What the hell is this…?" Soul asked as he looked at his surroundings.

He wasn't in the stadium anymore, he was in a place that shouldn't exist anymore.

"This is… home!" Soul exclaimed as he found himself wide awake at the sight of the large Japanese-style mansion.

"But that's impossible…!" Soul said as he placed a hand to his forehead, "This place was destroyed!" He yelled.

"Ready or not… here I come!"

Soul whipped his head around to face a voice that was all too familiar.

Behind him, stood his younger self.

"The hell!?" Soul yelled, "Hey, who are you!?" Soul yelled as his emotions got the better of him.

Yet when he reached out to grab the kid's arm, his arm merely passed through the boy.

Soul recoiled, "The hell… what the hell…!" Soul started to yell.

The boy didn't seem to hear him even as he yelled.

Soul stared at the boy, he looked exactly like Soul when he was just a kid.

His hair was shorter, though he still had bangs that were beginning to reach down to his right eye, though both of his eyes were still clearly visible.

His eyes were also both red, whereas Soul himself knew his right eye was gold-colored.

"So this is before… that time…" Soul murmured, "Have I died and gone back in time or something? Wait… that doesn't make sense though…" He spoke to himself.

"Found you!"

Soul whipped his head around to face Younger-Soul again, and his eyes widened at who he was now with.

"I'm in hell… aren't I?" He asked himself as he stared at his younger self, who now stood with a young girl with black hair.

"Dang it! How do you keep finding me?" The girl pouted as Younger-Soul helped her out of a bush she was hiding in.

"Cahya, you hide in the same place every time!" Young-Soul said cheerfully.

"Sis…!" Soul gasped.

He remembered this time… a time before he started trying to sleep away the memories, when-surprise surprise, he was actually pretty energetic.

He also remembered this day perfectly, this was the day he…

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Soul suddenly screamed, "Today is…! Today is…!" Soul started to scream, "My… thirteenth birthday… the day she died…!" He choked.

He wanted to go to sleep, but he couldn't.

For the first time in a long time, he was wide-awake.

And he hated it.

He stared at the black-haired girl, her hair done up in twin pigtails, her red-eyes matching Younger-Soul's own eyes.

* * *

Soul's body suddenly screamed, startling everyone in the stadium.

"Soul!" Syrup exclaimed with a smile, "You're alright...!" she started to say, before noticing his eyes.

They still glowed a sinister purple.

Soul stood up, breathing heavily.

"The hell… why is he moving!?" The enemy leader yelled.

"How should I know!?" The lackey yelled back.

"Everyone in this room…" Soul muttered as six orange cards suddenly appeared in a circle around him.

"Will DIE!" Soul screamed as he crushed one of the cards, orange light suddenly enveloping the entire arena.

The ground trembled, and a powerful gust of wind caused some of the rusted weapons in the ground to fly into the air.

"_Burning Blade-Messiah, CLYDE!" _Soul yelled as a pillar of flame erupted around him, revealing his form as a human with spiky red hair and red and yellow armor, holding a matching greatsword in one hand.

"Blade-Messiah!?" Syrup exclaimed.

* * *

"I've never heard of a monster called something like that…" Yuri muttered, "he said he could only use Armed Dragon… was he lying?" Yuri wondered out loud.

"But why would he lie about that?" Serena asked, "I can feel it from here, that monster has some crazy power!" She said with a grin.

"Then… why is he using it now?" Yuzu asked.

"Maybe he just awakened to those monsters now?" Yuya suggested.

"I saw six cards around him…" Sora cut into the conversation, "For someone to awaken to six monsters at the same time… not only is it unheard of, but it would place too great of a strain on his body to take on that much power so suddenly…" he explained.

"That means he already had this power…" said Yuto.

"Who cares! He looks badass!" Yugo exclaimed.

* * *

Before Syrup could say anything, Soul had suddenly blasted away, causing the ground where he once stood to shatter beneath him.

In a single instant, he was at the other end of the stadium, in front of the lackey guarding the crystal.

"What-" the lackey began to say.

He didn't get to finish the sentence.

In a single instant, Soul's weapon was engulfed in flames as it cleaved straight through the middle of the giant monster.

The lackey screamed as he was engulfed in flames, before being blown back to the wall of the stadium, transforming back into his human form. His clothes were singed, and a large cut was engraved on his chest.

He slumped over, unconscious.

"W-Would you look at that!" Melissa began to commentate, "Early in the match, we already have a duelist down and out for the count!" She declared excitedly.

"Did… anybody see him move?" Ruri asked.

"J-Just barely…" Yuto replied.

"And with that, Soul is right next to Team The Feared's unguarded crystal!" Nico declared, "Has the first match ended already-" he started to speak.

A glowing orange card appeared in front of Soul, "Strike them down, _Thundering Blade-Messiah, VOLTA!" _Soul yelled as he slashed the card in half.

Lightning struck Soul as he glowed a powerful orange, changing forms into a yellow-haired boy wearing yellow armor, and holding a long yellow katana.

"Another one!?" Syrup exclaimed.

In a flash of lightning, Soul was now back at the center of the stadium, behind the second lackey.

"Hey, look out!" The leader yelled.

It didn't help, in the span of a second, Soul had slashed the monster at every point, electrocuting the lackey at the same time.

The monster fell to the ground as he reverted back to normal, unconscious and severely cut.

"W-What the!?" Nico exclaimed, "Rather than destroy the crystal, Duelist Soul Messoran has returned to the center of the stage, and has annihilated yet another opponent!" Nico exclaimed.

"Soul! What are you doing!?" Syrup exclaimed, "_This isn't like him… he's not the type of guy to take the long and hard way!" _Syrup thought frantically.

"_Actually… is that even Soul?" _Syrup thought worriedly.

Soul slashed yet another orange card in half, "Drown my enemies, _Water Blade-Messiah, AQUA!" _Soul yelled.

In a flash of light, Soul now took the form of a female with long light-blue hair.

"WAIT, HE CAN TRANSFORM INTO A GIRL!?" Yugo suddenly yelled, "THAT'S SO UNFAIR, IMAGINE THE KIND OF STUFF I COULD DO IF I COULD-" Yugo began to yell without thinking.

Suddenly, Rin was:

Behind him

Twisting his arm harshly behind his back

"AAAGH, MERCY! UNCLE!" Yugo screamed as Rin caused pain to shoot through his arm.

**Yugo-Being-A-Perv Counter: 4**

"_Are you an idiot?" _Yuya, Yuto, Yuri, Sora, and Gongenzaka each thought simultaneously.

Soul's form was a slender female wearing a blue one-piece swimsuit, with silver armor adorning his-or rather, _her _shoulders and knees, along with silver armor boots that reached halfway to her knees, and silver armor gloves that almost went up to her elbows. To top it all off, blue fins extended from her arms through a hole in her gloves.

Soul spun a large blue trident in his hands as he jumped into the air, landing on the leader and thrusting the trident into the undead dragon's back.

The leader roared in pain as he tried to buck Soul off of him, only for water to suddenly burst from the ground, covering him completely except for his head, and then freezing solid.

"What's this? In a single action, Soul has completely frozen the team leader's body solid!" Melissa commentated.

Soul spun the trident before thrusting it into the air, piercing another orange card.

"Crush my enemies to dust, _Earthly Blade-Messiah, TSUCHI!" _Soul yelled as orange light covered him once again.

The ground cracked underneath him as he transformed into a large and muscular man, similar to Gongenzaka in size. He had long and spiky brown hair and wielded a large double-sided naginata.

Soul spun the naginata in hand rapidly, glowing bright orange as the ground around the enemy leader began to change shape, three large fists suddenly rising from the ground.

"CRUSH HIM!" Soul screamed as he swung the naginata down to the ground, causing all three fists to come crashing down on the frozen duelist.

A scream of pain came from the stadium.

Syrup was silent, her jaw hanging open.

"I knew he was hiding some sort of crazy power… but this is…" she started to say.

"Insane…!" Yuya muttered.

Soul turned to face Syrup, "You're next…!" Soul said as another orange card appeared in front of him, his eyes still glowing purple.

"H-Huh…!?" Syrup exclaimed.

Soul slashed the card in half, causing a tornado to appear around him as he glowed orange once more.

"_Slice them to pieces! Tempest Blade-Messiah, EKU!" _Soul screamed as his ferocity seemed to increase.

In his place stood a green-robed woman with a dark-green mask over her mouth and nose, along with long and spiky green hair and a dark-green headband.

To be frank, she looked like a ninja.

She held two dark-green twin daggers, and Soul charged at Syrup almost immediately.

Syrup gasped as the wind suddenly picked up around her, threatening to lift her into the air.

"This is bad…!" Syrup exclaimed, "Help me! _Naturia Beast!" _Syrup yelled as she crushed a white card in her hand, transforming into the green tiger.

"Pointless!" Soul yelled as he slashed at Syrup, before turning around and slashing her again, and again, and again…

"Agh…!" Syrup screamed in pain.

"What a surprise! It seems that Soul has gone berserk, and is now attacking his teammate!" Nico exclaimed, "Is this because of the combo-move!?" He commentated rapidly.

"Damn… just what did that move do!?" Yuto said through gritted teeth.

Another orange card appeared in front of Soul, and it was promptly slashed in half.

"_GIVE MY ENEMIES DESPAIR, SHADOW BLADE-MESSIAH, REAPER!" _Soul screamed as the sky darkened while he glowed a bright orange color.

The wind vanished, and Syrup fell to the ground as she reverted to normal, gasping for air.

A black-haired man wearing black armor and a black mask, along with a large black scythe on his back now stood as Soul's new form.

"Something is wrong…!" Syrup gasped as she stood back up, "What do I do…?" She asked herself.

She suddenly remembered her other monster, Apprentice Illusion Magician.

"Wait… I have something that might work…!" Syrup whispered to herself as an orange card appeared in front of her.

She promptly crushed it and transformed into the dark-skinned female spellcaster, "I have one spell that might work… though it's an emphasis on the might part…" she muttered to herself.

"Are you ready to die?" Soul asked calmly as his eyes flashed purple, "Then DIE!" He yelled as he ran forward as he spun the scythe around him.

Syrup raised her staff, which glowed a bright pink as Soul slashed her in half.

Everyone in the stadium gasped.

Suddenly, Syrup vanished, and the form of Apprentice Illusion Magician was behind Soul.

"Illusion copy!" Syrup yelled as she ditched her staff and placed both hands on Soul's head.

Syrup had used her monster's magic to create an illusion of herself that Soul had attacked, giving her the opening she needed.

"Please work…!" Syrup exclaimed as her hands glowed yellow, "_**MIND CRUSH!" **_She yelled.

Atem raised an eyebrow, "Hm?" He muttered.

A large yellow light erupted from the stadium, causing everyone to cover their eyes to shield themselves from the brightness.

Soul was screaming, as was Syrup.

Then, everything went black.

* * *

Syrup woke up with a start.

"Where am I? What happened?" She exclaimed as she sat up and looked at her surroundings.

She was… outside?

She wasn't in the stadium anymore, she was sitting at a gateway… which lead to a large Japanese-style mansion.

"Where… what…?" Syrup said as she held her head, "What did that spell do…?" She asked out loud.

"Ready or not! Here I come!"

Syrup turned around to see a little boy with red eyes and a wide smile on his face, his hair was short, but beginning to grow a little longer, as his bangs were slowly beginning to cover his right eye.

"Who… are you?" Syrup asked.

He seemed so familiar… yet when he didn't seem to hear her.

"Um, excuse me?" Syrup said as she tried to tap him on the shoulder.

Her finger simply went through him.

"Huh!?" Syrup jumped backward, "Am I a ghost!?" She yelled.

"Wait, but when did I die!?" She exclaimed.

"Found you!"

Syrup looked at the boy again, he was looking behind a bush, where a small girl who looked a lot like him.

"Dang it! How do you keep finding me?" The girl pouted as the boy helped her out from behind the bush as she brushed leaves away from her hair.

"Cahya, you hide in the same place every time!" The boy said with a small grin.

"Cahya… so your name is Cahya…" Syrup said out loud as she examined the young girl.

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot!" Cahya exclaimed, "Happy birthday, Soul!" Cahya said with a smile.

"Soul!?" Syrup exclaimed as she looked at the young boy. He was completely different from the boy she knew, at least in terms of personality… this boy definitely bore a resemblance to Soul, but he was clearly filled to the brim with nearly limitless energy, and he seemed to be constantly smiling.

It was… kind of adorable, actually.

Soul grinned, "Thanks! It is my thirteenth birthday after all!" He said with a grin.

Cahya suddenly frowned, "Soul, are you sure?" She asked, "Most people would only undergo this ritual at fifteen…" she said with a look of worry.

"Yeah, but I can already transform!" Soul said confidently, "Apparently I've surpassed all expectations, apparently I'm a 'prodigy' whatever that is…" he said with slight confusion.

Syrup couldn't help but think that Young-Soul was adorable.

"Did Mind-Crush put me inside Soul's memories…?" She wondered out loud.

She didn't know exactly what the spell she had used was supposed to do, it had a very vague description: "Purges the mind of darkness"

What was "Darkness" and what did it mean by purging? Did she even do it right?

The world suddenly spun around her, and she found her surroundings change from an outdoor area to an indoor area in an instant.

The room was dark, except for a single hole in the ceiling which let sunlight through to form a circle of light in the middle of the altar.

Young-Soul stood with an old man, a person Syrup recognized from the other day, though he did look a little younger.

A group of people watched from a podium nearby, murmuring amongst themselves.

It was mostly dark, but Syrup recognized Cahya, the girl Soul had been with earlier.

Syrup was only now noticing, but everybody there bore a strong resemblance to Soul.

An adult placed a hand on Cahya's shoulder, "Don't worry, your big brother will be fine…" the adult said soothingly.

"Big brother!?" Syrup exclaimed.

Was this… Soul's family?

The old man gave a look of concern to Soul, "Soul… are you sure you want this?" He asked.

"Relax, gramps! I can handle it!" Soul said confidently.

"Incredible… Soul might just be the youngest Messoran to ever receive the power of the Messiah…" One of the adults spoke.

"Are we sure about this?" A female voice replied, "He's only just turned thirteen… what if something goes wrong?" She asked.

"Well, I don't think anything like that will happen…" another voice spoke, "I mean, he hasn't even had proper duelist training, but he can already transform, AND he's almost as strong as me!" He claimed.

Syrup turned around to see Soul walking up to the altar in the center of the room, standing in the middle of the single circle of light.

He wore white robes, and he sat down on his knees and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, six torches, three on each side, lit up with differently-colored flames.

Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Brown, and Purple. Each torch had one of these colors as a flame.

"We will now perform the Blade-Messiah's Ritual on Soul Messoran…" The old man spoke, "Let the blessings of the Messiah help guide him in his life…" he chanted.

The writing on the altar began to glow, and a beam of light descended from the sky, enveloping Soul for a brief moment before vanishing.

"Hngh…!" Soul grunted as he nearly fell over.

Syrup looked worried as she saw the boy hunched over, but nobody else seemed as concerned as her, other than Cahya.

"Is… is Soul okay!?" Cahya exclaimed.

"The ritual is going normally so far…" a man answered.

"Tch… I'm fine…!" Soul grunted.

The old man sighed, "Very well, let us continue!" He declared.

The writing on the altar glowed even brighter, and Soul's body began to glow a deep blue.

"It's happening…" a man said, "He's about to receive the power of the Messiah…!" He exclaimed.

Syrup gazed at the ritual in awe, the light emanating off of Soul was… beautiful.

But the beauty didn't last.

"A-AAAAGH!" Soul suddenly clutched his right eye and screamed in pain.

"Soul!" Cahya yelled.

The scenery around Syrup suddenly looked distorted, red light flashing everywhere even though nothing was flashing red.

"Is… is this what Soul remembers from this time!?" Syrup exclaimed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Soul screamed into the sky as he took his hand away from his face, revealing that the color of his right eye had changed from red to gold, and it was glowing brightly.

"Stop! Stop the ritual!" The old man yelled.

"O-Oh crap, what's happening!?" A man yelled.

"It's a backlash!" A woman yelled back.

"But how!?" The man yelled back, "The Messiah only gives a power that the user can handle! How can there be a backlash!?" He exclaimed.

"I knew it, he was too young!" Another person yelled.

"SOUL!" Cahya screamed.

Suddenly, a flash of light came down on Soul, and the roof practically vanished.

The glowing-blue silhouette of a large, bipedal dragon now stood behind Soul, it had no natural wings, instead, what seemed like countless swords floated behind its back in a wing fashion. Its eyes glowed a fierce green, and it roared in sync with Soul's screams.

"T-This is impossible…!" The old man gasped, "This is not the power of the Messiah… this IS the Messiah…!" The old man exclaimed.

"GRAMPS!" One of Soul's family members yelled as he ran over and grabbed him, "We have to run! We need to call for more duelists!" He exclaimed.

The old man didn't hear him, "It's… It's really him!" He gasped, "The Blade-Messiah Dragon…!" He gasped.

Soul screamed, and the dragon roared.

And suddenly, the world around Syrup literally turned red.

Syrup heard screams and the sound of battle, and the sound of Soul's screams filled her ears.

She tried to cover her ears, but the sound seemed to go through her hands and continued to ring in her eardrums.

"S-Soul…!" She gasped.

The screaming suddenly stopped, and the scenery changed from red to back to normal.

The room was gone, the roof, the walls, the entire building, gone.

There was just wreckage.

"Cah… ya?"

Syrup turned around to see Soul holding the body of his little sister in his arms.

A large sword, bigger than anything any human could naturally wield, had pierced through her small frame.

Dark-red blood stained the front of Soul's robes as he tried desperately to stop the bleeding.

But even Syrup knew… a wound that big, there was no coming back from that.

His facial expression made it clear that Soul's mind hadn't processed what was going on yet.

Of course, it didn't last long.

"Cahya… CAHYA!" Soul screamed as tears began to gush from his eyes, his right-eye still glowing bright gold.

"_S… Soul…?"_

Cahya weakly wheezed those words, they seemed to quiet for someone at Syrup's distance to hear, but for some reason, they echoed in her ears.

"Cahya!" Soul exclaimed, "D-Don't worry! Everything is gonna be fine! Somebody is gonna come and heal you… you're gonna be fine…!" Soul sputtered through the tears.

Cahya smiled weakly, "I'm… sorry…!" She gasped, "I couldn't… save you… in time…!" She wheezed.

The large golden blade in her chest began to glow and disappear, and Cahya slowly began to go limp.

"W-Wait…! Hang on!" He cried out.

"Big bro… it hurts…" She said weakly, "Stay… with me…" she wheezed.

"Yeah…!" Soul cried.

Her body finally fell limp, the life inside it vanishing.

"I'm sorry…!"

Soul sat on his knees among the wreckage of what used to be his home, Cahya in his arms.

He was covered in blood… HER blood…

"I-I didn't…!" he started to say as tears fell from his eyes, his right eye glowed with a golden light.

He suddenly screamed.

It was a scream of despair, and it filled Syrup's ears.

Tears ran down Syrup's cheeks as she stared at the two, "Did this… happen to Soul… in the past?" She asked herself.

She tried to go to him, tried to comfort him… but she remained unable to touch him.

"How did you get here?"

Syrup whipped around to see Soul, the real Soul, the fully-grown Soul that she knew.

He leaned against some of the wreckage, his facial expression blank, and his eyes dark and lifeless.

"Soul!" Syrup exclaimed, "Are… are you?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm actually real, not a memory like what you just watched…" Soul said coldly.

"Wait, so this is…?" Syrup gasped.

"Yup," Soul replied, "This is a loop of the worst memory of my life…" he said coldly.

"A… loop?" Syrup said as she stared at Soul with worry in her eyes.

"I've had this memory repeat again, and again, and again…" Soul spat, "So, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I… I came to get you out!" Syrup exclaimed, "Your body on the outside… it's going berserk!" She exclaimed.

Soul sighed, "And how do you plan to do that?" He asked.

Syrup's face deadpanned, she hadn't thought of that.

Suddenly, a large glowing door appeared behind them.

"Huh… an exit…" Soul muttered.

"Huh? How do you know?" Syrup asked.

"I can just… tell…" he replied as he stood up, his face still stuck with its dead look.

"Wait!" Syrup exclaimed as she ran over and grabbed his arm, "Do… do you want to talk…?" She asked nervously.

Soul glanced at her, "About what?" He asked, "About how I killed my sister?" He said bluntly.

"I…" Syrup tried to respond.

"Don't bother, we're leaving and ending this shitty match…" he said coldly as he brushed her off and walked towards the door.

Soul placed a hand on the handle and looked back at his younger self.

Syrup noticed his hands trembling, but despite how much she wanted to help him…

How?

Soul twisted the handle and pulled the door open, a blinding light coming out as he walked through, Syrup followed him sheepishly.

"Don't tell anyone…" Soul shot at her as their visions faded to white.

* * *

Syrup woke up with a start, looking around frantically at her surroundings.

She was in a hospital bed, Yuzu and her sisters sitting in a circle around her.

"Oh! You're awake!" Ruri exclaimed with a smile.

"_What the… what happened…?" _Syrup thought.

She suddenly gasped, "The match!" She exclaimed as she tried to get out of bed.

She felt herself being gently pushed back down by Yuzu, "You won," she said quickly, "After you did… whatever you did, you passed out while Soul woke up from his trance," she explained.

"Then he turned around, destroyed the crystal, and walked off!" Serena said with a look of annoyance, "He didn't even say anything! He just left you lying on the ground!" She said angrily.

Syrup rubbed her head, "So that's what happened…" she muttered.

Rin began to explain what had happened, "Apparently, that move that the other team did was supposed to put whoever gets hit by it in a trance where they experience their worst nightmare…" Rin said as Syrup laid on the bed, "But for some reason, Soul went crazy instead of just going into a trance…" she said.

"Whatever you did, it knocked Soul back to his senses," Serena took over, "He looked pretty pissed as well, destroyed the other crystal and stormed off, and we haven't seen him since…" she said exasperatedly.

"Wait, how long have I been out?" Syrup asked.

"Just a few hours," Yuzu said as she stood up, "You should be good to leave soon, so we'll be waiting down in the lobby with the boys!" She said as her she and her sisters began to leave.

"Get well soon!" Rin said happily, the other girls nodding as the room became empty.

Syrup continued smiling until they left, before looking at the floor and frowning.

"Soul…" Syrup muttered.

If what she saw was really something that happened in the past, she could only imagine the kind of pain Soul was going through, especially after an experience that almost certainly re-opened some scars.

But how do you help someone like that?

Her mind came up empty when she thought about it, which was incredibly discouraging.

She sighed and allowed her eyelids to close once more, she was still tired, and racking her brain for a way to help her friend was… tiring.

* * *

Voices.

He had heard them in his head almost constantly after his thirteenth birthday.

Soul sat in an alleyway, away from the people who probably wanted to question him or interview him.

He could partially remember what had happened while his body was going berserk, but it was still fuzzy, and he hated it nonetheless.

But let's get back to the voices, shall we?

There were three different voices in his head, was it because of trauma? Who knows, he hated all of them either way.

"_Well, now somebody knows, maybe we should just end it?"_

The first voice sounded just like his own voice, and was really depressing and constantly trying to get him to take his own life. He had considered it, but in the end, he decided against it because of another voice.

"_It's just Syrup, and no! Don't waste the life that Cahya gave you!"_

A female voice that sounded WAY too much like Cahya, and was supportive and trying to make him feel better. If it didn't sound like his sister, he would've liked this voice, but unfortunately, he hated it because of what it sounded like.

"_Why don't we just let go and go crazy…?"_

The final voice was deeper than his own voice, but still similar to his own voice. It seemed to be constantly angry, and it wants Soul to just release the seal he had placed on his power and let loose.

He was insane… wasn't he?

Well, he WAS sane enough to recognize that hearing voices technically made him certifiably insane.

He figured he needed a name for the voices, and gave them the names Depression, Supportive, and Rage respectively.

On the bright side, if he goes to sleep, the voices stop.

Actually… that might be why he started sleeping so much.

"Just kill me already…" Soul groaned.

"_See, He agrees…" _Depression said gloomily.

"_He's obviously exaggerating…" _Rage spat.

"_Guys! Stop!" _Supportive exclaimed.

"Shut up, already…" Soul groaned as he closed his eyes.

"_He's sleeping again…" _Depression said gloomily.

The other voices sighed, and Soul smiled as his mind drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

Yugo stared at Yuri intently, poker cards in each of their hands.

Yugo looked confident, and Yuri looked smug.

"Full House!" Yugo declared as he threw down his hand, revealing his hand to be a full hand.

Yuri laughed, "Impressive… but not impressive enough!" Yuri yelled as he threw down his own hand, revealing an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and a 10.

A royal flush.

"WHAT!" Yugo yelled as he slammed his fists on the table, "YOU'RE CHEATING! I KNOW YOU ARE!" He yelled.

"Oh, don't be such a sore loser, Fusion!" Yuri laughed smugly, "Just pay up already!" He said as he flashed the most evil-looking face possible.

"My name is YUGO! Not FUSION!" Yugo yelled.

"How did you do that!?" Yuya exclaimed.

"Well, you see it's a little something I like to call skill, and believing in the heart of the cards…" Yuri said smugly as he sneakily adjusted the extra cards he had hidden in his sleeves.

"Damn it…" Yugo cursed as he pulled out his wallet and shoved a stack of money into Yuri's arms.

"Yuri, you should really stop cheating…" Yuto whispered into Yuri's ear.

Yuri simply grinned, "Why, I have no idea what you're talking about!" He said with a smile that was too pure to be anything genuine from Yuri.

Yuya smiled, hoping that times like these could continue.

_**Bonus Scene! (This will be a tradition now, these scenarios DO happen unless otherwise specified, but they may not happen during the same time-frame as the chapter it is in. Take this scene, for example, this is taking place before everybody arrived at the island.)**_

_Bonus Scene 1_

"Sorry… I don't think I can get out of bed today…!"

Yuto groaned as he lay in bed, an ice-pack laid across his forehead.

Just when they get a four-day weekend, Yuto ends up sick and stuck in bed.

"Damn, it must suck to be you!" Yuri taunted.

"Wait, if Yuto can't get out of bed… who's gonna feed us!?" Yugo exclaimed.

"Of course, the first thing on your mind is food…" Rin groaned.

"He has a point, though…" Serena muttered, "I'd rather not pay for every meal this entire weekend, but do any of us know how to cook?" She asked.

"Everything Yuri cooks somehow ends up poisonous…" Yugo pointed out, "I'll probably break everything in the kitchen, and Yuya only knows how to make pancakes…" Yugo listed the brother's cooking talents off.

"Well then, I suppose us girls will have to provide!" Yuzu said pridefully.

Yugo's eyes widened, "Seriously!? Homemade food from the girls for the whole weekend…!" Yugo whispered to Yuri.

"Well, I'm sure you ladies are more than capable!" Yuya said with a smile, "We'll leave dinner to you!"

_Later…_

"All right, dinner is ready!" Ruri called throughout the dorm.

"Great! I could eat a-" Yugo started to say before he froze at the sight on the table.

"Yugo? What's wrong-" Yuri began to ask before he too, froze up.

"Guys? What's-" Yuya continued before ALSO freezing in place.

"_What the hell is that…?" _They all thought simultaneously.

"We all worked together to make this!" Ruri said with a smile that radiated purity, "It's the Kurosaki-Family-Style Curry!" She explained.

"Oh… yay…" Yugo gulped.

What was on the table, did NOT resemble curry. It was actually a mystery as to WHAT it resembled at all.

"Does it have a face…?" Yuri whispered.

It did indeed look like it had a face. It even looked like it was in excruciating pain.

"Why is it… purple…?" Yuya whispered back.

The sauce was indeed a deep and sickly purple, it even had a few bubbles.

"Why is the rice… green?" Yugo whispered.

The rice was a sickly green, and it radiated an incredibly awful smell.

"Well? Dig in!" Rin said happily, "We worked really hard on this!" She added.

Yuya swore he heard a silent scream come from the curry.

"In my room, I have a small garden of carnivorous and poisonous plants…" Yuri whispered, "But they seem like dandelions compared to this…!" He hissed.

"What's wrong?" Yuzu asked.

"Excuse me, but that's completely inedible-" Yuri began to speak before both Yuya and Yugo grabbed him and covered his mouth, "N-Nothing!" They both said frantically, "Just let us talk for a second…!" They said before dragging Yuri into another room.

"_What the hell! You can't seriously think it's a good idea to eat that!" _Yuri hissed.

"_Of course it isn't!" _Yugo hissed back, "_But I'm pretty sure eating it is a fate better than making any of them angry!" _He choked out.

"_You heard them! They worked hard on this!" _Yuya hissed, "_If we tell them it's horrible, at least one of them will cry, which will infuriate them even more!" _He pointed out.

"Hm, it seems like we made a little more than we intended to…" Serena's voice echoed from the kitchen, "Maybe we should give some to Yuto?" She asked.

The boys gulped, "_Yuto is already sick! We can't let him eat that!" _Yuya said frantically.

"_Suck up your pride, and pray that you survive!" _Yuri said with a face of regret.

"_God, I hope I don't die because of CURRY of all things…!" _Yugo hissed.

Yuya, Yugo, and Yuri each walked into the room.

"What's wrong? You guys look so pale!" Yuzu said as they sat down.

"N-Nothing…!" Yuya stammered.

"Well, we made sure to think of each of you while we made this," Serena said as she gave each of them a plate, "Since Yuya likes sweets, we put chocolate in, and since Yugo likes spicy food, we put ghost peppers in!" She said cheerfully.

Both Yuya and Yugo looked like they were about to faint, "A-And… me?" Yuri hesitatingly asked.

"Well, we weren't sure what you liked, so we nabbed one of your plants and tossed it in…" Rin replied.

"YOU COOKED ONE OF MY MY BABIES-" Yuri started to scream before Yugo slapped a hand over his mouth.

Yuya gulped, he had seen Yuri's plants, and they all seemed too dangerous to go even remotely near, mostly because of the strange look, smell, and chances of being eaten alive by the plant.

Suddenly, the wrath of all of the girls at once seemed much more favorable compared to whatever was in front of them.

It seemed like there was on escape… unless…

"Well? Why don't you try it first?" Yuri said to Yugo.

"Huh!?" Yugo exclaimed before suddenly realizing what was happening.

"O-Oh! Nah, I'm fine…" Yugo said back, "I think you should try it, it is made from one of your plants after all…" Yugo said with a hidden glare.

"No, please… I insist…" Yuri shot back at him.

"No, please… go ahead!" Yugo said with fake-kindness.

Yuri's eyebrow twitched, "Well, I'm sure it's been one of your lifelong dreams to eat home-cooked meals from a girl…" Yuri said passive-aggressively.

"I think you're mistaken, Yuri…!" Yugo said as his voice began to get louder.

The nice-facade suddenly vanished, and Yuri and Yugo were suddenly glaring at each other so intensely that it looked like something was about to explode.

"Well, I believe there's only one way to settle this…!" Yuri said angrily.

Immediately, both of them were on the floor in the arm-wrestling position, each of them yelling dramatically as they clashed.

"Well, since those two are being idiots, why don't you try it?" Yuzu asked Yuya with a kind smile.

"Huh!? Me!?" Yuya exclaimed as the color drained from his face.

Yuya stared at the food-no, Yuya stared at the **CHEMICAL WEAPON** that sat in front of him.

"It's fine… it's not actually alive and going to kill me…" Yuya gulped.

"_kIlL mE…!"_

Yuya ignored the rasping voice that seemed to beg for death that came from the mass of death in front of him.

Yuya shakily took a spoon and picked up a portion of the curry.

The girls were all staring at him hopefully.

He had no options!

Yuri and Yugo looked up to see Yuya with the spoon in hand, realizing what they had just doomed the younger-brother to do.

"WAIT NO-" They both yelled.

It was too late, the spoon was in his mouth.

Yuri and Yugo gasped as Yuya's face remained completely still.

"Y-Yuya…?" Yugo whispered.

Foam started to drip out of Yuya's mouth as his face turned blue.

"OH GOD!"

"WHAT DID YOU PUT IN HERE!?"

"HOSPITAL! CALL 911!"

_Meanwhile…_

"Why do I have a headache…?" Yuto grumbled from his bed.

**A bit of Soul's power was (unwillingly) put on display today, as well as a memory of Soul's past.**

**I figured that I wanted Soul's true power to be something unique, so he has his own monsters that came directly from my own head. Behold, The Blade-Messiah archetype of monsters. He currently has one for each attribute, with the exception of DIVINE, giving him Armed Dragon, six Blade-Messiah's, and his mysterious ace.**

**There wasn't much action with the main cast of Arc-V, I hope you all can forgive me for that! Until next time!**

**(Bonus Scenes are gonna become a norm here, so you'll usually get to experience a form of comedy at the end of every chapter. Today, it was the introduction of Yuzu and the girl's cooking skills when working together).**

**(Oh, and thoughts on the rating of this story?)**


	14. Chapter 14: Blooming Flowers

**Yugioh Vrains has ended, and I have only one thing to say…**

**AI NOOOOOOOOO**

**We shall remember Ai in our hearts, and if I'm being honest, this was a great ending to a great season.**

**And even his last words ended up as an "Ai" pun (Ai loved you)... we shall always remember him…**

**In other news, Ignisters are finally a thing, they're gonna be my MR4 archetype, and a new series is in development!**

**Set to come out in 2020… god, everything is coming out in 2020, Persona 5 Royal being one of those things, damn it.**

**But enough of my unnecessary notes, let's start the chapter!**

**Chapter 14: Blooming Flowers**

Syrup had just gotten properly dressed, ready to leave the hospital before she heard three polite knocks on her door.

"Come in!" Syrup said as she zipped up her backpack.

The door opened, and someone walked in.

Syrup turned around to see who it was, "Hi, how can I…" she started to say before she froze, her jaw falling to the ground.

The first clue to who had entered the room came from the mass of ridiculously spiky reddish-purple hair that seemed to be at least 30% of the man's height.

"H-Headmaster Atem…!" Syrup stammered as the headmaster himself stood in her hospital room, an enigmatic smile on his face.

"Good afternoon," Atem said kindly, "Fully rested from today's match?" He asked.

"Y-Yes, sir…!" Syrup stammered.

"_Why is he here!? Am I in trouble!?" _Syrup exclaimed in her head.

Atem chuckled, "Please, relax a little!" He said kindly, "I'm just here to talk!" He said.

He said that, but his eyes seemed to look past her and directly into the core of her being… actually, he always looked at people like that, so was that normal?

"O-Okay…" Syrup said as she leaned against the wall, Atem pulling up a stool and sitting down, his gaze never leaving Syrup.

"You performed quite an impressive feat, Ms. Maple…" Atem spoke softly, "That move you used to return your teammate to his senses…" he began to speak.

Syrup gulped, he exuded an aura of authority that made it almost impossible for her to relax, but at the same time… she felt at ease.

The aura in the room was contradictory, she was stressed yet calm at the same time, and she couldn't find a way to explain it.

"Y-Yes…?" Syrup responded nervously.

"Mind Crush… I believe you called it?" Atem asked.

"W-Well, I didn't really name it…" Syrup stammered, "It sort of… popped into my head one day, and I didn't have any other options, so…" she tried to speak clearly, but her voice seemed to grow quieter as she continued to talk.

"Interesting…" Atem muttered as his gaze finally left Syrup, staring downward as he thought.

"What's… interesting about it?" Syrup asked.

Atem's gaze returned to Syrup, "Mind Crush… it's a spell that I invented…" he explained.

_Silence_

"Huh!?" Syrup exclaimed, "W-What does that mean…!?" She said as she began to panic, was Atem angry at her for stealing one of his techniques!?

Atem chuckled, "Now, now… calm down, I'm not angry or anything, I'm just curious…" he said reassuringly, "Mind Crush is an incredibly complicated technique that can erase darkness from one's mind and heart…" he explained.

"Huh?" Syrup questioned.

Atem continued to smile, "The version you used was… incomplete, it affected the darkness in your teammate's heart somewhat, but also placed your own mind inside his…" he explained.

"You… so you know what happened…?" Syrup asked.

Atem chuckled, "I did not enter his mind, so whatever happened in there is a mystery to me…" he explained, "but I know you entered his consciousness, let's just say that I see with more than just two eyes…" he said mysteriously.

"Um… so then, why are you here?" Syrup asked.

Atem's smile disappeared, "Why are YOU here?" He asked.

Syrup looked confused, "What… do you mean?" She asked.

"I looked through your file, Ms. Maple…" Atem explained, "You showed no interest in becoming a duelist before this… in fact, it says that you even held… animosity, towards duelists during your earlier years…" he explained.

Syrup gulped, "W-Well… I had a change of heart…" she said softly.

"Who are you?" Atem asked, "Your physical exam shows that you possess greater physical strength than most humans, along with a higher-than-average level of eyesight, and a strangely high affinity to monster spirits…" he continued to speak.

"S-So…?" Syrup said as she gradually became more nervous.

Atem stood up, "Then, you use a technique I invented… a technique I never taught anyone or even released to the public-incomplete though it was, and heal from your injuries faster than normal healing speeds…" he finished.

"Huh? Faster healing?" Syrup questioned.

"The hospital did not use healing skills on you," Atem explained, "by the time you reached the hospital, your minor injuries were gone, and any major injuries were already reduced to cuts and bruises…" he finished.

Syrup was looking more and more nervous by the second, so Atem decided to sit back down and tone it down a notch.

"Do you have any explanation, or even a clue, as to why this is?" He asked softly.

"I… do not…" Syrup said as her voice changed from nervous to firm, "Can we please drop this subject?" She said firmly.

Atem noticed that he had hit a nerve at some point, and recognized that it was time to leave.

Atem smiled as he stood up, "I apologize if I overstepped my boundaries," he said calmly, "I hope we can speak again, Ms. Maple…" he said as he turned and left the room.

Syrup waited until Atem left the room before staggering and falling against the wall.

She was breathing heavily, sweat running down her neck.

She was thankful that Atem had left, he was on the verge of digging up some very unpleasant feelings.

* * *

One day, ONE singular day, was all Rin asked.

A single day without some sort of boy-girl drama.

It was apparently too much to ask because she had just watched Shun chase off a hoard of boys who were confessing their love to Ruri, who was admittedly the most gorgeous of the quadruplets, which is saying something considering that they all had the same face.

And yeah, she definitely noticed Yuto watching from afar… staring at Ruri a bit too much.

Serena had started a fight with Yuri, and both of them were now arguing about pets.

"How can you pick something like THAT over cats!?" Serena exclaimed.

"WHY HAVE AN ANNOYING CAT WHEN YOU CAN HAVE A PLANT THAT EATS INSECTS!?" Yuri screamed back.

Serena was holding a small cat in her arms, and Yuri was holding a pot with an… intimidating plant sitting on top of it.

"It's a PLANT!" Serena yelled.

"SO!?" Yuri yelled back.

Rin decided to ignore the ridiculous argument.

Yuzu's tsundere schtick was still going as strong as ever, as Rin witnessed her win a toy from a crane machine and decide to give it to Yuya.

She then realized as Yuya smiled and thanked her, that this could somehow, someway, _possibly_ be borderline couple-like-behavior.

"D-Don't get the wrong idea!" Yuzu exclaimed as her face turned red.

"Huh?" Yuya said as he looked up from the toy and stared at her.

Rin winced as a loud **SMACK **echoed through the area, courtesy of the paper fan that Yuzu carried on her person at all times, colliding violently with the back of Yuya's head.

Yuzu realized that her reaction was over the top and quickly apologized as Yuya got up off the ground, though a large red bump was still prominent on Yuya's head.

Rin's solution was to just find someplace quiet to be alone with her thoughts, but that didn't last long, as Yugo had promptly invaded.

It's not that she didn't MIND Yugo's presence, she welcomed it, in fact.

It was what came WITH him that annoyed her.

They had been chatting peacefully about D-Wheels, as they had surprisingly enough, similar interests in mechanics.

"OI! What are you doing with Rin!?"

Yugo shot up at the sound of Yaiba, the boy who had been consistently trying to get Rin to go out with him.

"None of your business!" Yugo yelled.

Rin originally would have thanked Yugo for this, but she now knew that any interaction between Yugo and Yaiba ended… badly.

"Huh!? Oh yeah!?" Yaiba exclaimed.

Yugo and Yaiba were now literally butting heads and completely tuning out other sounds in their argument.

"Rin isn't your girlfriend!"

"Neither are you!"

"You're annoying her!"

"No, YOU ARE!"

Rin had no idea why she was even being chased after anyways, there were three other girls with the same exact face as her, why not go for someone like Ruri? She was much kinder and much more womanly, and graceful, and…

"Fine! Why don't we duel for her then!" Yaiba yelled.

"HUH!?" Yugo exclaimed.

The conversation now had Rin's attention, it was escalating more than usual now.

Yugo looked shocked, "D-Duel for her!? I-It's not like I'm trying to win her! She's not an object!" Yugo yelled indignantly.

"I-I never said she was!" Yaiba yelled defensively, "I mean, why don't we duel for the right to date her!" He declared.

"I-I don't wanna date her…!" Yugo yelled as his face turned red.

"Oh? Then why don't you let me date her!?" Yaiba yelled.

"B-Because… she deserves better than you!" Yugo yelled back.

"SINCE WHEN COULD YOU DECIDE THAT!?" Yaiba screamed.

"FINE, I'll duel you for her! I'll kick your ass too!" Yugo yelled.

"Wait, don't I get a say in this…?" Rin tried to cut in.

Her words went through one ear and out the other, "Loser has to respect the winner's wishes!" Yaiba declared as he thrust his hand out, "Our teams are fighting in the tournament anyways! We'll fight in the match, and the winning team wins the whole thing!" He said confidently.

"DEAL!" Yugo yelled as he took the hand and shook it firmly.

"Wait, guys I-" Rin tried to speak up.

Yaiba stormed off, and Yugo was looking PISSED.

Yaiba couldn't take "No" for an answer, which is an answer that Rin had given him multiple times now.

Meanwhile, Yugo got too high-strung too easily, and now she had two guys DUELING over her.

"Why me…" Rin sighed as she felt a headache coming on, "I'm not anything special…" she mumbled.

Yugo ran over to her, "Rin! You don't wanna date that guy, right?" He asked.

"Huh? No…" she started to say.

Yugo in his hyper-activeness cut her off at that point, "Then… can you help me with something?" He asked.

"Help you with what?" Rin asked.

"I'm gonna make something that'll make sure I and everyone else win no matter what!" He explained, "But it's… hard, and I think you'll be able to help me make it in time for the match!" He declared.

"Wait, don't you think this whole thing is pointless…?" She asked, "I don't want two guys fighting over me…" she tried to get the words out properly, it was harder than she expected.

Yugo sighed, "Yeah… I got too emotional," Yugo admitted, "But there's nothing I can do about it now… and I can get him to leave you alone if I win…" he said calmly.

"Still…" Rin tried to speak.

Yugo sighed, "Actually… no, you don't have to help…" Yugo said with a small smile, "I'll get it done on my own, you just relax, okay?" He said softly.

"But…!" Rin tried to speak up.

"Just… pretend there isn't any duel or anything," Yugo said optimistically, "I'll just fight my hardest, and win just like I already intended to!" He said happily.

Something about Yugo's dorky smile seemed to calm her down, "Okay, go get em!" Rin said optimistically.

A girl just couldn't catch a break these days…

* * *

Reiji sat at a computer, typing away as his focus remained completely on the screen.

Reira slept on a bed nearby, allowing Reiji to devote all of his focus towards the lines of code on the screen.

Large red words suddenly flashed on the screen, blaring the words "Access Denied" clear for Reiji to see.

Reiji growled in frustration as he threw his head back, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"And what are you doing?"

Reiji turned to see Sawatari enter the room, "You know, you should probably get some sleep, considering the fact that our tournament match is tomorrow" he pointed out.

"What are you talking about, I'm not tired…" Reiji said bluntly.

"The bags under your eyes say otherwise…" Sawatari said exasperatedly.

Indeed, prominent circles existed underneath Reiji's eyes. Despite the fact that the rest of Reiji's face seemed awake, the bags under his eyes screamed just how tired he was.

Reiji sighed, "Fine… I'll sleep…" Reiji gave in.

Sawatari stared at the screen, pictures of Yuzu, Ruri, Rin, and Serena were on it.

"Those cuties are your sisters, right?" He asked.

"They are my half-siblings, yes…" Reiji sighed as he closed the computer.

"Do they know?" Sawatari asked.

"No… only Kurosaki, their older brother, knows…" he replied.

"Even for quadruplets… their faces really are exactly the same…" Sawatari muttered.

"It's not just their faces…" Reiji sighed, "Their body features are also exactly the same, from what I've seen from their physicals…" he said.

"Whoa, seriously?" Sawatari said with a grin, "I think I've just discovered a new fetish…" he joked as a particularly M-Rated image of all four girls appeared in his head.

"Be careful when you say that," Reiji said with a grin, "Kurosaki might hear you, and he won't care if you're joking," he said while still grinning.

Elsewhere, Kurosaki sneezed.

"Tch, damn allergies…" He grumbled.

Sawatari's face paled, "Y-Yeah… I'd be dead…" he said with a gulp, "Well, goodnight Reiji!" He said as he left the room.

Reiji sighed as he continued to think of his half-sisters, "Their physicals are too alike to be coincidences… and father definitely knows something…" he muttered.

He would have to keep pondering this later, in the meantime, he decided to get some sleep before he collapses.

* * *

It was the second day of the tournament, and Yuya and his brothers sat in the spectator seats along with Gongenzaka, Sora, Syrup, and Soul (Though Soul was fast asleep).

The sisters were absent from the group for one reason, they were going to be competing today

"Which team are they fighting again?" Yuya asked.

"One of the Obelisk Force's…" Yuri frowned, "Seriously, there are like five teams named Obelisk Force…" he said with visible annoyance.

"Obelisk Force #4" Sora cut in, "That's the specific name of the team they're facing," he said helpfully.

"Obviously, Academia has students that lack originality…" Yuri muttered.

"Sector Academy has the same problem…" Yugo muttered, "Literally all of their teams are called 'Sector Security' for some reason…" he said as he read the pamphlet.

"Apparently there were even more of those teams in the first round…" Yuto said as the commentators, Nico and Melissa, began to announce the start of the second day.

Syrup stared at Soul, who was probably sleeping to avoid conversation.

She hadn't seen him at all after the match, only once she got back to their room did she see him, and he was already fast asleep.

And the next morning, he was already gone when she woke up.

At least he was sitting with them, though he was fast asleep.

Syrup wished she had been able to talk to him properly while they were in his mind, as she could only imagine the pain he was in.

Another thing was how she resonated with his pain… recalling a similar experience in her own past.

She quickly shook her head and ignored the memory, though her facial expression remained down.

Yuya took notice of her unusually solemn attitude and frowned, "Hey, is something wrong?" He asked.

"O-Oh! It's nothing!" Syrup said as she waved her hands and quickly put up a cheerful expression yet again.

Yuya could tell that this smile was fake, but before he could mention anything…

"Hey! There they are!" Gongenzaka exclaimed.

Yuya whipped his head around towards the stadium, Yuzu and her sisters were confidently walking onto the stadium.

Syrup was now cheering, a genuine smile now on her face.

Yuya made a mental note of what had just happened and quickly started cheering for his friends.

* * *

Yuzu was beyond nervous at this point, because damn this crowd was huge, was Yuya in it somewhere?

She glanced at the enemy team on the other side of the stadium, a team of four boys dressed in blue, along with white masks complete with red eyes.

They looked a _little _menacing, but the redundant designs made them look more like foot soldiers or grunts more than anything else.

The problem was the fact that they were from Academia, which unnerved the quadruplets because of… reasons.

"The teams have the same number of members, so the Field-Choice shall be decided by rock-paper-scissors!" Nico explained as Serena walked forward to meet one of the Obelisk Force members.

Serena played Rock, so did the Obelisk Force.

Serena played Rock again, so did the Obelisk Force.

When it happened for the third time, Rin felt the urge to walk over and smack Serena before she played rock for the fourth time.

Luckily, she didn't have to. Serena played Scissors next while Obelisk played paper, winning the right to field choice.

The screen appeared in front of the girls, and they huddled together to try and decide which field to choose.

Yuzu wanted a regular greenfield, Rin wanted a city, Ruri wanted a medieval setting, and Serena wanted a beach.

And thus, the debate began.

"We don't know much about our opponent, we should go simple!" Yuzu argued.

"Exactly, a city is simple!" Rin said back.

"I think a medieval setting would be both interesting and simple…" Ruri said softly.

"I just wanna go to the beach," Serena said bluntly.

Everybody looked at Serena.

"Serena, we can go to the beach later!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"None of us have any aquatic monsters… so I don't know how I feel about the beach…" Ruri thought out loud.

"We also don't have swimsuits on…" Rin pouted.

"What does that have to do with it!?" Yuzu exclaimed.

"Don't worry," Serena said as she lifted her shirt, "I actually have my swimsuit on underneath…" she said with a thumbs up.

"But why?" Ruri asked.

"Let's just go to the freaking beach…" Yuzu said exasperatedly.

And with that, the beach was selected.

"Can we go to the actual beach later?" Rin asked.

"Yeah! That sounds fun!" Ruri said happily as the stadium began to glow.

"Alright, time to get undressed…" Serena said as she began to take off her shirt.

"Wait-NO, DONT JUST DO THAT HERE!" Yuzu shrieked as she stopped Serena before she undressed in front of a crowd, even if she DID have a swimsuit underneath.

The arena changed, now taking the form of a field made mostly out of seawater, with two large islands at either end, with a crystal at each side.

Rin stared at the opposing island, where the obelisk force stood and discussed something that they couldn't hear.

"Serena, can you go with Ruri to attack them when the match starts?" She asked.

"Leave it to me!" Serena said confidently.

"I'll do my best to provide backup!" Ruri said with a smile.

"Now then, three! Two! One! DUEL!" Melissa yelled.

"Come! Lunalight Cat Dancer!" Serena yelled as she dashed forward as she transformed into the fusion monster, flying gracefully over the water.

"Fly! Lyrilusc, Assembled Nightingale!" Ruri said as she transformed and flew high into the sky, watching Serena from afar.

Yuzu clenched her fists, both Ruri and Serena were already this strong… but she didn't have anything really special. "I'll grow stronger in this match…!" She whispered to herself.

* * *

The Doctor waited with a wide smile on his face, staring at a large tube filled with orange liquid, the silhouette of a man inside it.

The sound of a door opening caught his attention, and in walked the headmaster of Academia.

"Ah, Mr. Leo Akaba, sir…" The Doctor said politely as the dark-skinned bald man walked inside.

"What have you been working on, Doctor…" Leo said darkly as he stared at the tube.

"Just a little pet-project that has recently reached a breakthrough…!" He said giddily, thanks to the assistance of Shinku… I believe I have finally done the impossible!" He declared.

At the sound of his name, a white-haired boy with purple eyes and bags under his eyes came out of the shadows, he wore a white t-shirt and black jeans.

Leo nodded, "I thank you for your assistance to the Doctor…" Leo said to Shinku, earning a silent nod.

The doctor smiled as he stared at the test tube and the concealed figure inside. "With Shinku's power… I believe that we are about to do the impossible… and defy death itself…!" He said as his smile widened as he giggled.

"What… do you mean…?" Leo asked.

"United Duelists Academy's best prodigy in years… tragically slain while rescuing poor souls who were kidnapped, about to be sold into slavery!" He declared dramatically, "Truly a tragic tale of an incredible individual, who lost his life before reaching his full potential…!" He declared.

"And the point is?" Leo said sternly.

"Surely even a man like that would have… grudges, correct? Perhaps at the fact that his life ended so suddenly…" The Doctor said cryptically, "With Shinku, we can locate that soul… and by amplifying his grudges, while giving him an appropriate body…!" He began to speak.

"You meddle in forces that are best left untouched…" Leo warned.

The Doctor merely laughed, "As a scientist… I must meddle in everything that piques my curiosity…!" He said giddily, "With this, Academia's strength shall grow immensely…!" He declared before breaking into a loud and maniacal laugh.

Leo frowned, "Do as you wish…" he said as he turned and left the room, The Doctor still cackling as he left.

* * *

"This is…!" Yuzu gasped.

It was unfair, that's what it was.

All four Obelisk Force members had the same kind of power, and it was a ridiculous one as well.

Three of them had transformed into the same monster, Ancient Gear Giant, and were using their ridiculous size to cross the mini-ocean with ease.

And to top it all off, the girl's attacks may as well have been mosquito bites.

"Damn it…!" Serena grunted as she, while transformed into Cat Dancer, tried to slash at one of the giant's arms.

The attack merely bounced off, and she ended up getting bashed with the very large, mechanical arm that she had tried to remove, and was knocked into the water.

"Serena!" Rin yelled.

Ruri had tried to fly overhead and reach the crystal, which was guarded by the remaining member, who had transformed into an Ancient Gear Hound.

Unfortunately, the giants stood too tall, and she was blocked from getting past them. Attacking them didn't work either, she didn't have enough attack power to damage them, so her attacks were more futile than Serena's.

Rin seemed to have the most effect, her Windwitch's abilities to control ice was able to slow the giants down as their joints started to freeze, but the sheer power of the giants were too much for her to handle, and despite being able to slightly slow them down, the ice broke before it could really start working.

Not only that, but the Ancient Gear Hound kept shooting fireballs at the giant's joints, melting anything that finally managed to form.

And Yuzu was stuck watching it happen like an idiot.

What could she do? Her abilities focused mainly on sound, which was next-to-useless against mechanical forms, and her raw power was only slightly higher than Ruri's.

"What would Yuya do…?" Yuzu asked herself.

A pointless question, Yuya had the power to damage these giants with Odd-Eyes alone, and he had both the support of his spirits and his brothers.

Not only that, but he had even stronger fusion monsters, and that incredible Xyz-Pendulum monster, though he could only keep the form up for about a second.

Meanwhile, she only had regular Standard monsters, and only one particularly powerful one.

She snapped herself out of her trance when she heard Ruri scream, she had been grabbed out of the sky and was now stuck in the rough grip of the middle giant.

"RURI!" Her sisters yelled as Serena tried to attack again, only to be blown back once more. Rin increased the intensity of her cold wind, but it ended up damaging Ruri more than it damaged the giants, so she had to stop.

"Come! Mozarta!" Yuzu yelled as she transformed into Mozarta and flew at the giant, brandishing a thorn-like rapier.

"Graceful Wave!" Yuzu yelled as green energy covered the tip of her rapier as she drew a circle before thrusting the glowing tip of the blade into the fist that held Ruri.

Surprisingly enough, the shock managed to loosen the giant's grip, allowing Ruri to flap her form's wings and escape.

Yuzu, however, wasn't so lucky.

Before she could react, the hand suddenly grabbed her in its attempts to catch Ruri again and settled on catching Yuzu instead.

"Agh!" Yuzu cried out as she felt the grip tighten around her body. The giant's grip was incredibly strong and unyielding, and it felt like her bones were on the verge of cracking… in fact, if it weren't for her monster form, her bones probably WOULD be breaking right now.

"Let her go!" Serena yelled as she jumped up again and attacked the arm holding Yuzu, "Full-Moon Crest!" Serena yelled as her claws glowed blue, striking the arm with a powerful blast.

The giant staggered, but its grip remained as tight as ever.

Yuzu struggled to try and break free, but it seemed that the more she squirmed, the more the rusty metal and sharp points of the mechanical hand would brush against her skin.

Serena ended up being knocked away for a third time, and despite Ruri's quick attacks on the giant, she remained trapped.

Yuzu suddenly felt herself be raised higher into the air, the giant was raising its arm to throw her at their crystal.

"This is bad…!" Ruri yelled as she continued her attempts to free Yuzu.

Yuzu continued struggling, trying to make the throw as difficult as possible.

It worked, combined with Yuzu's squirming and Ruri's attacks, the giant found it hard to keep a proper grip on the girl.

"Come on, you're almost free…!" Ruri exclaimed.

The giant suddenly swung down the arm Yuzu was in, smacking away Ruri.

Instead of being thrown at the crystal, the giant just threw her straight down into the water with a large splash.

And then everything went black.

* * *

"YUZU!" Yuya yelled as a large explosion of water came from the spot that Yuzu had just been thrown into.

"If her life ends up in danger, she'll be removed from the field for the safety of her life…" Yuto said in an attempt to calm Yuya down.

"But she could be hurt!" Yuya exclaimed.

"Oh, she's _definitely _been hurt…" Yuri chimed unhelpfully.

"Not helping, Yuri…" Yugo muttered.

"What if she drowns!?" Yuya exclaimed.

"She'll be removed from the field way before that happens…" Yuto stated.

Yuya was still worried, "Still…" he muttered as he desperately hoped that she would be okay.

He was grasping the pendulum around his neck, not noticing that it was now faintly glowing.

* * *

"OW!"

Yuzu cried out in pain as she shot up in surprise.

Wait… shot up?

She looked around at her surroundings… she wasn't in the stadium anymore.

She seemed to be sitting on water… though it felt completely solid, and the sky was a bright blue with big white clouds. The water she was sitting on reflected the sky almost perfectly, making it look like she was standing in the sky itself.

Her body ached, that was for sure… especially around her head, did she hit her head when she was thrown into the water?

She winced as she stood up, "Where am I?" She wondered out loud.

The place seemed familiar, somehow… and it looked a lot like something that Yuya once described.

"Oh yeah! When Yuya first awakened to pendulum… he said he appeared in a place like this…" Yuzu thought out loud.

So then… why was she here?

She could be wrong, after all… she could be dead.

Yuzu shuddered as she perished the thought, the last thing she needed was the thought of her dying, and this is actually the afterlife, or at least, someplace before it.

Yuzu suddenly heard the rattle of chains come from behind her.

She turned around in surprise, she had done a full 360-degree turn, and there had been nobody but her in the area.

But now, there was the form of a woman, a little older than Yuzu from the looks of her figure and height being more mature and taller than Yuzu respectively.

There were no clothes on her body, but her body was also completely yellow, as though made of light… she had no facial features to speak of, but her hair was a deep maroon and dark-red, and it was tied into two pigtails like Yuzu's own hair, but it was considerably longer and went down to just below her shoulders.

She was kneeling on the ground, her arms and legs chained down by sinister black chains that came out of the water underneath her.

"H-hey!" Yuzu exclaimed, "Are you alright!?" She exclaimed as she ran over to the girl.

The glowing girl lifted its head to look at her, but because of its lack of a face, Yuzu wasn't sure if it was relieved or not…

Yuzu knelt down next to the girl, she looked at the girl's wrists and heels, where the chains were tightly attached to her. The light around her wrists and heels were a deep and sinister black, like a stain on the pure yellow light that made up the rest of her body. In a way, it resembled bruises.

"Do you… do you need any help?" Yuzu asked.

No words, only a single nod from the faceless woman.

Yuzu examined the chains, upon closer inspection… they weren't pitch-black, they were just ridiculously rusty. "Could I break it if I transformed…?" Yuzu questioned.

Unfortunately, nothing happened when she tried to transform… no glowing card appeared in her hand, she was apparently stuck like this.

She glanced back at the chains, they seemed pretty fragile, actually.

Yuzu suddenly had an idea.

Yuzu removed her hairclips, allowing her hair to fall down her back, placing one pin in her pocket, she picked up a chain in one hand, and her hair clip in the other.

There was a seemingly-metal ring around the blue of her hairclips… would they work?

She raised her arm, closed her eyes, prayed that it would work, and swung.

The chains shattered on the first hit.

Actually… it's more precise to say that the second she hit it, all of the links shattered at the same time, before glowing yellow and fading away.

"W-Wow… those must have been pretty fragile…" Yuzu said out loud, though it didn't seem that way to the glowing girl… when she saw the chains on the girl, they looked tight and firm.

Oh! The girl!

Yuzu turned to face the girl, all of the chains had broken off of her, and the purple around her wrists and heels vanished, now becoming completely yellow.

Yuzu heard a sigh of relief as the woman turned to her, and Yuzu was surprised to see that she now had facial features, as though a face was being pressed through a flat wall of cloth.

She was even more surprised to see that the face staring back at her looked almost exactly like her… or more accurately, an older and more mature-looking version of her.

She had less roundness to her cheeks, but the shape of her eyes, mouth, ears, nose… they all looked just like Yuzu's own face.

The woman smiled, before suddenly jumping at Yuzu and embracing her in a hug.

"H-Huh!?" Yuzu exclaimed.

Before she could do anything else, however, the woman suddenly vanished into tiny particles of light.

Yuzu suddenly went silent as a vision played through her head.

_Yuzu was now… seemingly back on UDA's main island… more specifically, the place that she had landed after arriving on a plane for the first day._

_A male figure stepped out, except when Yuzu looked at him, his skin and face was completely black, and it was next to impossible to make out his face… other than his mouth, which remained normal when open._

_The boy had long and spiky silver hair with light-green highlights, and he wore a blue and white jacket with orange borders, similar to the D-Wheel suit that Yugo always wore, despite not having a D-Wheel._

_Along with that, was a black undershirt. On top of that, he wore thick red-brownish gloves, black pants with brown chaps, faded gold knee pads, dark-blue suspenders with faded gold buckles hanging from a red-brownish belt with two large holsters, (much like the belt that Yuto wore, actually…), a large faded gold buckle, and brown shoes with dark-blue outlines and straps._

_Yuzu had to admit, he was fashionable._

_One thing that Yuzu noticed about his hair, however, was that it reminded her quite a lot of the boys in the way that it has two colors, and quite a lot of Yuri, with the fact that his front bangs were parted the same way._

_The boy was wincing as he came off the plane, clutching his leg._

"_Agh… my leg's asleep…!" He groaned as he staggered off the plane._"_Are you okay?"_

_Yuzu saw something even more familiar now… it was the glowing woman she had just freed._

_Her skin still glowed bright yellow, and her facial features were hard to distinguish, but this time… she was properly clothed, wearing a white, purple, and blue dress._

"_Y-yeah… I'm fine…!" The boy winced as he managed to stand up again, "I just… had my leg in a position where it wasn't getting proper blood-flow for about an hour…!" He groaned._

_The girl giggled, "Well then, I guess you know what NOT to do next time you're on a plane!" The girl joked cheerfully._

_The boy laughed, "You're funny, what's your name?" The boy asked._

_Yuzu could make out a smile on the girl's obscured face, "My name is…"_

_Suddenly, the vision cut out, and Yuzu was back in the strange, watery place she had just been in._

"Huh?" Yuzu muttered, "What… was that?" She muttered.

What she had just seen… it seemed awfully familiar.

A memory suddenly popped into her head, and her eyes widened.

"That moment… it was almost exactly like when I first met Yuya…!" She realized.

**Refer to Chapter 1…**

Mind you, it wasn't EXACTLY the same… they were much more confident and less nervous.

Yuya had gotten off the plane while his leg was asleep, and Yuzu had asked if he was okay… at which point they nervously introduced themselves.

But why? What was going on? And more importantly…

Where. Was. She!?

"_Finally, we meet…"_

Yuzu turned around to face yet another voice, except this time, it wasn't the figure of a human that met her.

Well… it was humanoid but at the same time… not.

It took the same shape as the glowing girl she had just seen, except her skin was the same color as Yuzu's and she wore a pink dress that looked like it was made of incredibly large, pink petals. She had large white angel wings on her back, and her face was like a mask, taking a pink and white pattern, along with blue eyes that looked exactly like Yuzu's own eyes.

Her hair was pink, also like Yuzu's, and done up in the same two-pigtails hairstyle as her. Because of the mask-like face she had, there were no mouths or noses to speak of, only the eyes.

Strapped to her back was a large silver staff with a large pink orb on it, like a wand of sorts, and in her arms was a beautiful golden lyre.

Yuzu couldn't help but notice two things.

One: It resembled Yuzu herself.

Two: It looked angelic…

"_**We finally meet…"**_

Yuzu heard a deeper version of her own voice echo from the being in front of her.

"_**Now that the seal has been broken, my power is yours to command…" **_The angel spoke as the world suddenly began to fill with pink light.

Yuzu suddenly felt exhausted, her eyelids beginning to close as a wave of warmth washed over her.

* * *

A pillar of pink light suddenly burst from the area where Yuzuu had hit the water.

"What…!" Yuya exclaimed as he shot up.

For some reason, Yuya's chest suddenly began to tighten, "What… what is this…!?" Yuya exclaimed as he clutched his chest.

Yuya's brothers similarly felt some tightness in their chests, but not as much as what Yuya was feeling.

"What's… going on…?" Yugo winced.

The water parted around Yuzu, where she stood on the ground, her bracelet glowing bright pink as her wounds suddenly began to vanish.

"_Wait… I remember this…!" _Yuya thought as he watched the scene play out, "_This is like… when I first unlocked Pendulum…!" _Yuya exclaimed inside his mind.

Yuzu's eyes slowly opened as her body completely healed, she looked around in a daze as three glowing cards appeared around her, each shifting between red light, and then to green light, again and again.

"Don't tell me…!" Serena exclaimed as Ruri pulled her out of the water.

Yuzu's eyes fully opened, and she stared at the cards in surprise.

"This is…!" Yuzu exclaimed as a smile formed on her face, "Yuya… I'm catching up to you!" She said happily.

She took one of the cards into her hands, and gently closed her hands, crushing the card.

A burst of red and green light replaced the pink light, and Yuzu's body was covered in light as she transformed.

"Graceful and elegant… descend into this world, and shower us with your light of purification!" Yuzu chanted as she began to change, "_Become my power, Floribus En - The Melodious Angel!" _Yuzu said as the light burst around her.

In her place, was the monster she had met in her mind, her graceful figure that resembled Yuzu so much floating above the water that now began to cascade into the place where Yuzu just stood.

The teachers each watched the scene unfold before their eyes, completely silent.

"First Sakaki… and then that Reiji boy, along with Shingo Sawatari… and then this Yuzu girl…" Kaiba muttered, "It seems… that we still haven't seen all that there is to Pendulum…" he said as he fell deep into thought.

Yuya, meanwhile, was shocked.

"Yuzu… she's using Pendulum…!" He exclaimed.

"Yuya, did you somehow teach her…?" Yuto asked.

"No! I don't even know how I would teach or pass down Pendulum…" Yuya muttered.

First Reiji, then Sawatari… he had been shocked to see those two use Pendulum… and now even more so at the revelation that Yuzu could use it.

But this time, he couldn't help but… smile.

Yuzu often talked about how she wanted to grow stronger… so that she wouldn't be passed up or overshadowed by everybody around her.

"You're really shining… Yuzu…!" Yuya said as a smile widened on his face, allowing him to ignore the tightness in his chest.

* * *

Yuzu raised one her hands, and the other two cards shattered, forming two other pendulum monsters.

"Come! Larghissimo and Prestissimo, the Melodious Spirits!" Yuzu called as two figures appeared beside her.

Two girls appeared, one dressed in a blue dress that resembled rose petals, and the other dressed in the exact same dress, except red instead of blue. They gave off the appearance of a blue rose and a red rose respectively.

Larghissimo had a cold and expressionless facial expression, holding a short want in her right hand, along with dark-blue hair and blue eyes.

Prestissimo looked the exact opposite, looking incredibly spunky and tomboyish with a long staff in her hands, along with bright-red hair and orange eyes.

"Go!" Yuzu yelled as both spirits flew towards the giants in front of her.

Prestissimo grinned while Larghissimo looked as emotionless as ever, as they raised their staff and want respectively.

Suddenly, a giant red rose of energy burst into existence above the left giant, suddenly showering the giant in flames.

Similarly, a giant blue rose of energy appeared on the water where the right giant stood, and ice suddenly burst forth and frost suddenly began to form rapidly on its body, halting its movements.

"Whoa… she froze that guy over in an instant…!" Rin exclaimed.

"I can feel the heat from here…!" Ruri gasped.

The sound of machinery creaking filled the area as the two giants struggled against the flames and ice. Meanwhile, the middle giant charged forward at Yuzu.

Yuzu took out her golden Lyre, which suddenly grew to an incredibly large size.

In a single motion, she strummed the instrument dramatically, and a powerful beam of light suddenly descended from the sky and struck the giant.

The giant roared as the light began to completely destroy its mechanical body until a flash of orange light appeared, and the Obelisk Force member fell into the water, unconscious.

A flash of blue light appeared, and suddenly a bubble appeared around the member, and he was moved back to the island where he had started, preventing him from drowning.

"So that's what happens if you're KOed in the water…" Yuri muttered.

"What was that!?" Serena exclaimed, "She took down that guy in a second…!" She exclaimed.

Yuzu's Lyre returned to its original size before vanishing completely, "That… was Judgement Ray…" Yuzu explained, "I can only use it once a day, but it's the strongest move I have…!" She whispered to herself.

The giant on the left, which was still taking damage from the flames, began to walk forward through the water, though the flames still didn't let up.

Yuzu suddenly flew forward, taking out the staff from her back and brandishing it.

The pink orb on top suddenly glowed, and three ridiculously large and thorny vines burst forth from the ground and water below the giant.

They wrapped themselves tightly around the giant and began to squeeze, seemingly unaffected by the flames.

The sound of metal bending was heard, and with a loud roar, the giant burst into orange light, and the duelist was suspended in the air by the vines.

Yuzu turned to the frozen giant, who was struggling to try and move.

Yuzu raised her staff, and it suddenly glowed pink as it changed shape.

In her hand was now a beautiful rapier with a pink jewel at its crossguard, a weapon that Yuzu brandished as she flapped her wings and flew at the giant.

The giant finally managed to break free from some of the ice and swung its giant arm at Yuzu, only for her to gracefully dodge the attack and run up alongside the gargantuan arm.

In a flash of yellow light, Yuzu thrusted her blade repeatedly into the giant's arm as she ran alongside it, severely damaging the arm as she jumped off and began to fly around the giant again.

"Lightspeed Thrusts…!" Yuzu declared as she flew around the giant, attacking and damaging the giant as it began to fall backward.

Yuzu flew back to the front of the giant, her rapier now glowing pink.

"_Floribus En… End Punish!" _Yuzu yelled as she dashed forward, thrusting the rapier through the giant as Yuzu appeared behind the giant.

A flash of pink light erupted from within the giant, and with an explosion of pink light, the giant changed back into its normal form as a member of the Obelisk Force.

Yuzu turned her attention to the crystal now, guarded only by a single Ancient Gear Hound.

He backed up slowly, clearly terrified.

Yuzu flew forward with her rapier raised, and the mechanical hound flinched.

Instead, Yuzu flew past him and sliced the crystal in half.

The boy realized what had happened as he changed back to normal, gasping for air as he fell onto his back.

"AND THAT FINISHES IT!" Melissa exclaimed from her helicopter, "With a sudden burst of power, and the incredible surprise with the appearance of more pendulum monsters, Yuzu Kurosaki stunning victory!" She declared.

The crowd began cheering as Yuzu changed back to normal, her spirits vanishing as she began to fall over.

She was caught by Serena, who had dashed over to catch her before she collapsed from exhaustion.

"Se… rena…?" Yuzu spoke as she fell limply into her arms, "Did we… do it?" She asked.

Serena grinned, "No, you did it…" she said with a chuckle, "You wanted to catch up to us, and now you've completely blown past us!" She exclaimed.

The rest of her sisters arrived as the arena changed back to normal, "Yeah, we have some work to do, now!" Rin said with a smile on her face.

Yuzu smiled, "Thanks… I feel exhausted, though…" she said before promptly passing out.

Yuya smiled, "Yeah… I was exhausted after I first unlocked Pendulum as well…" he noted as Yuzu's sisters carried the pinkette out of the stadium.

His brothers, however, were frowning.

They were all thinking the same thing.

"_I have to get stronger…"_

_**Bonus Scene!**_

"You have very strange tastes in pets, Yuri…"

Yuri's brothers stared at Yuri like he was an alien while Yuri tended to his most recent addition of "babies".

"What are you talking about?" Yuri asked, "Are you saying that Sally is strange?" He said accusingly, as though he was insulted.

"N-No, of course not!" Yuya said quickly, "It's just… most people have dogs, or cats, or fish, or birds…" he began saying.

Yuri scoffed, "Those are lame, Yuya, a true man of culture would _obviously _do the same thing I'm doing!" He stated indignantly.

"I don't think ANYONE rubs a carnivorous and poisonous plant affectionately…" Yugo said bluntly.

"Sally isn't poisonous!" Yuri said with a playful pout, "She just injects a substance into your bloodstream, which causes full-body paralysis for about an hour!" He said as though it was normal.

Yes, Yuri Sakaki, was at this very moment…

Was stroking a clearly carnivorous and dangerous plant affectionately.

What's even stranger, was that it looked like it was _hugging him affectionately as well._

"Yeah! That's bad!" Yugo yelled.

"She doesn't bite!" Yuri said indignantly.

At that very moment, a mosquito flew by, and "Sally" suddenly stretched out its "neck" and chomped down on the thing in a single moment.

"Except bugs, but isn't that a _good _thing?" Yuri asked.

"Not if it eats us…" Yuto muttered nervously.

"Hey, boys, what's going on-EEK!"

Yuzu had suddenly entered the room, and "Sally" had suddenly elongated its "neck" again and was now wrapping itself around the poor girl.

"IT'S EATING YUZU!" Yuya panicked.

"RELAX, IT'S ONLY SMELLING HER!" Yuri yelled.

"SMELLING!?" Yugo exclaimed, "WHAT PLANT 'SMELLS' PEOPLE!?" He yelled.

Yuzu's face was pale as she stood completely still as the "mouth" got uncomfortably close to her face.

"Guys… it smells…!" Yuzu gasped.

"ExCUSE me!?" Yuri exclaimed.

Suddenly, the sound of fast stomps filled the dorm.

Serena burst into the room while carrying a large bowie knife, "YURI, CALL OFF THE PLANT BEFORE I BURN IT AND EVERYTHING IN YOUR ROOM TO THE GROUND!" She yelled angrily.

"I WOULD LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, BITCH!" Yuri screamed.

Sally retreated from Yuzu, and Yuzu fell to the ground.

"Yuzu!" Yuya exclaimed as he ran to her side.

"Yuya, I can't feel my arms or my legs!" Yuzu panicked as she laid limply in his arms.

"IT ONLY LASTS AN HOUR, RELAX!" Yuri yelled.

"IT _PARALYZED HER!?" _Serena screeched.

Sora was standing outside the dorm, listening to what was going on from outside.

Suddenly, the thought of visiting them today sounded… less than appealing.

_End_

**Right, literally the second I get past the writer's block I had in the summer, I suddenly start publishing chapters more consistently.**

**Woohoo!**

**Anyways, yep, Yuzu can use Pendulum now. I found it strange that in the anime, she only ever used Fusion Summoning, and Pendulum Summoning that ONE time. I expected her to use the other ones like Yuya, considering she was from "Standard" after all.**

**Unfortunately, she ended up fighting Sergey and ended up getting intimate with the side of a building, and then she stopped dueling altogether. (Yet another reason why Arc-V had great potential, a great start, but slowly got worse as time went on because of lazy writing).**

**Yuzu's new ace, Floribus En, is Latin because everything is cooler in Latin.**

**Her other two Pendulum monsters are named Larghissimo and Prestissimo, which are words in the music community for Really Slow Tempo and Really Fast Tempo respectively. It fits with the Melodious' theme as well, as all of their names are based on something related to music.**

**Anyways, see you all soon!**


	15. Chapter 15: A Short Respite

**Some news for everyone!**

**Currently, in the workshop of my mind, a new story is in the making!**

***confetti rains***

**Seriously though, I'm currently working on the bones of a remake of Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, calling it Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V "Re-Soul"**

**The name is still being debated though, that's just what I've decided on, for now, it's still subject to change.**

**It will include the original characters you see here in UDA, Soul, and Syrup, though they might have different backstories. Regardless, they will still have the same personalities. (Perhaps new characters will appear?)**

**And another thing… If I can somehow write Arc-V better than the people who ACTUALLY wrote Arc-V, then it should say something, considering I'm just an amateur writer who writes because I have an overactive imagination, as well as a writer who rights trashy self-indulgent fics for fun.**

**(Mind you, Arc-V isn't the highest hurdle to jump over, at least, near the end…)**

**Duels WILL also be fully written out, meaning you will get to experience the full duels between characters (apparently, according to others, I'm pretty good at writing duels).**

**Anyways, enough about that, it's still in the workshop! I don't even have a full plot written out yet for it! Let's get back to United Duelist Academy!**

**Chapter 15: A Short Respite**

Yuya was having dreams… but they were strange… somehow.

Yuya was taller… and he stood at the top of a podium, unconscious bodies lying around him.

For some reason, however, he didn't seem to care about the duelists laying defeated around him.

He was smiling, and he felt happier than he'd ever felt before.

Then, he would speak in a voice that felt like it was his but sounded different.

"HAHAHA!" Yuya would yell, "Is there nobody who can challenge me!?" He questioned.

The crowd cheered, and Yuya could feel pride swell within him.

"ARE WE SATISFIED!?" Yuya would yell at the crowd.

"NO!" The crowd would all yell back.

"Neither am I!" Yuya would declare, "I crave more battle! And I know you all do as well!" He yelled.

The crowd cheered and began chanting his name.

Except… it wasn't his name, Yuya couldn't even hear a name.

Static seemed to drown out the voices of the crowd every time they chanted his name, but they didn't seem to notice.

"_-! -! -c!"_

Yuya had no idea what they were saying, but he felt his body smile loudly instead.

"Yes! I am **-!" **Yuya yelled, "I am the strongest! And none shall surpass me!" He yelled.

The crowd was going wild, but Yuya felt that something was… off, with what they were cheering for.

When Yuya spoke his name, static had drowned him out as well… but for some reason, he didn't react.

"I crave more! I crave more battle! More violence! More power!" Yuya chanted.

The words felt… wrong.

They felt foreign… he would never say something like that, yet it felt so natural.

"Therefore, I shall do just that!" Yuya yelled as his smile simply grew even larger, "I shall become even stronger… become even more violent… until the world itself is destroyed!" He yelled.

Yuya suddenly couldn't see the crowd anymore, and all he heard were the cries of four dragons.

He was laughing almost maniacally now… and he could see the silhouette of Odd-Eyes next to him, his brother's dragons standing alongside it.

And then… the dream would stop.

"AH!" Yuya yelled as he shot up in bed, his chest heaving and drenched in his sweat.

Was it a nightmare? Yuya was afraid of it… but the feeling of elation during the dream…

Yuya held his forehead as he began to regulate his breathing. His heart was pounding.

The dream was getting more detailed by the day…

He had started seeing these dreams a little bit before the first day of the tournament… at first, it was hazy… everything was covered in fog, and Yuya could hardly even hear his voice.

Now… the location was clear and detailed, and he could hear everything clearly (except his name).

Yuya was too sweaty to stay in bed… it was too hot, even with the AC blasting him from nearby.

Yuya slowly got up, careful not to wake his brothers, who slept nearby.

"No… I don't wanna… ride you… Mr. Unicorn… ***snore***"

That was Yuto, muttering in his sleep.

Yuya had learned over the years to NEVER ask Yuto about his dreams.

"How could I-**SNORE**-ever pick… between beauties… such as-**SNOOORE**-yourselves…?" Yugo muttered as he tossed and turned in his bed, a wide smile and blush on his face.

"That's right… who's your daddy now…?"

Yuya nearly buckled over as he heard the mutters of Yuri from outside his room, and Yuya had to peek inside.

Yuri was completely asleep, and was having a… questionable dream.

Yuya sighed in relief, "_At least Yuri doesn't vent any domineering tendencies in real life… because let's face it, we all know that his mind is a 'wonderful' place…" _Yuya thought as he slowly closed the door.

Yuya pulled on his pants and a t-shirt, along with the key-card for his room, and quietly stepped outside.

After a short walk and an elevator ride later, he reached his destination.

_Real-Solid Vision Training Room_

Yuya took a deep breath before swiping his key-card and entering the room.

The room was… incredibly futuristic, having an interior that looked like it had come right out of _Tron_.

A floating blue robot suddenly materialized in front of him, "Mr. Sakaki! What would you like today's training session to be?" The robot chirped.

"Multiple powerful enemies…" Yuya said with a smile, "Oh, and make one of them stronger than the rest!" He chimed.

"As you wish!" The robot chirped before suddenly vanishing into tiny blue particles.

The interior of the room suddenly glowed and changed, and Yuya was now standing in the middle of what looked like a gladiator arena.

Along with the arena, were about five human goliaths wielding incredibly large weapons… they were also much larger than the average human, even compared to Gongenzaka.

Behind them was a similarly-sized lion with enormous fangs and a chain wrapped around its neck. It growled menacingly from behind the goliaths.

They were all facing Yuya, and they looked incredibly angry… and they were wearing helmets that mostly obscured their faces as well!

A countdown began, "**3! 2! 1! DUEL!" **It yelled.

The goliath's charged at Yuya in a crazed frenzy, swinging their weapons-whether it was a sword, ax, club, or spear-at Yuya.

Yuya crushed a familiar red and green card in his hand, "Come! Odd-Eyes!" Yuya yelled.

Yuya changed into the form of the large red dragon in a flash of red and green light, and a roar echoed throughout the arena.

Yuya didn't have to worry about being loud… there was a sign on the outside that said the rooms are soundproof.

One of the goliath's swung a giant club at Yuya's side, only to be knocked away by a swipe with Yuya's large tail.

Yuya roared at the other goliaths, and they flinched back as they took a step backward.

"_Spiral Strike Burst!" _Yuya yelled as he sent a stream of spiraling flames towards the other Goliaths.

Two of the giant warriors were blasted away, while the other two each held up their weapons in a defensive position.

Currently, three goliaths blown away, two left.

Yuya took a deep breath before roaring once again.

* * *

Syrup couldn't sleep.

Her conversation with the headmaster kept playing in her head over and over again… and thoughts of Soul plagued her mind as well.

She had the headmaster finding out too much about her, and a friend she didn't know how to help.

Speaking of that friend, Soul was currently standing out on the balcony.

Syrup rubbed her eyes and opened the glass sliding door, "Soul?" She whispered as she stepped outside, the cool wind blowing gently against her skin through her green nightgown.

Soul was wearing a white T-Shirt, along with black pajama-shorts.

It was unusual to see Soul awake at such a time… he usually took any chance to sleep as he could.

Soul turned to face her, "Hey…" he mumbled.

"What… are you doing out here?" Syrup asked.

Soul shrugged, "I noticed that you couldn't sleep, so I thought it would help you sleep better if the murderer sat outside…" he muttered.

"Murderer…?" Syrup whispered.

Soul grinned weakly, "We both saw what happened in my head… let's not sugarcoat it, now…" he said weakly.

"Soul, you aren't-" Syrup tried to say.

"Not a murderer?" Soul asked, "The duelists who came afterward said the same thing," he said coldly, "That it was just an accident… just because of the fact I took on a power I couldn't handle…" he muttered.

"But that's exactly-" Syrup tried to say.

"Wrong," Soul cut her off, his left eye burrowing into her soul with its gaze, "I know exactly why the power went berserk… why I couldn't control it…" he said bluntly.

"What…?" Syrup whispered.

"Mental State plays a part in it," Soul said calmly, "As a kid… I put up a confident front because I let the fact that I was a 'prodigy' get to my head," he explained, "but when I accepted the ritual… I was terrified…" he admitted.

"But what does that have to do with anything?" Syrup asked.

"It has _everything _to do with it," Soul snapped, "The power I took, I was _perfectly _capable of handling it, I was _special_," he said as he began to clench his fists.

"But I was AFRAID, Syrup…" he said coldly, "I was afraid of the power, and when I began to receive it, I broke…" he said as he began to calm down.

"What… does that mean…?" Syrup hesitatingly asked.

"I lost control because I _wasn't ready_…" he said bluntly, "physically, yes… but mentally I was far from ready… I didn't want to say yes to the ritual yet, but I did it because I felt obligated to surpass expectations…" he explained.

"But even then…!" Syrup began to speak, "You would never have hurt your sister!" She exclaimed.

"But I DID!" Soul snapped, "It was my sword in her chest… my **power **running wild," he continued to speak, "I should have said no! I should have said I wasn't ready, but I pretended that I was!" He yelled, "That decision cost Cahya her life… and therefore, it's my fault…" he said as he looked down at his shaking hands.

Syrup was silent, what was she supposed to say to that? That even now, it wasn't his fault? That would only agitate him even more…

"To be completely honest, Syrup… I don't even want to be alive…" he admitted, "I've tried on multiple occasions to take my own life…" he said softly.

"What!?" Syrup exclaimed.

Soul grinned weakly, "But even now, I'm afraid…" he said softly, "I'm a coward… I'm too scared to take my own life, so I sleep to try and ignore the demons… maybe even pretend that I'm dead…" he said softly.

"You can't!" Syrup exclaimed, "You can't take your life for granted! That's not what Cahya would want…!" She exclaimed.

"How would you know?" Soul snapped, "You don't know her… and she's dead, so nobody has ANY clue what she wants…" he said coldly.

Syrup bit her lip, she had nothing to say once again.

Soul sighed, "I sealed my power so that it wouldn't come out again… because even now, I can't control it…" he admitted, "I'm still terrified of it… if I let it out, nothing good will happen…" he said calmly.

Soul sighed at her silence, not that he could blame her.

"You're a cheerful girl, you have a great life ahead of you…" Soul sighed, "Honestly, we should probably cut off our friendship here…" he began to speak.

He was suddenly cut off by… a hug?

"Don't… say that…" Syrup said softly, "Really ask yourself… what do you think Cahya would want…?" She asked.

Soul sighed, "How should I know…" he began to say.

"You of all people should know!" She exclaimed, "You were close to her, right?" She asked, "You were there in her final moments, right!?" She said as her voice raised.

Soul was silent.

Syrup let go of him and looked him right in the eye, "I can't completely understand what you've gone through… or how to properly help…" she admitted, "But I can guarantee you this… when somebody you care about dies so you can live… isn't it better to continue living… for them?" She asked.

"_She has a point"_

"_Who cares…"_

"_This still changes nothing!"_

The voices in Soul's head rang in his mind, but he ignored them.

Those words… he had been told those words before, but they never felt genuine, and he didn't believe them.

Why… why did it sound so different when she said it?

Why did it feel… true?

Soul clicked his tongue, "Whatever… I've already made tonight depressing enough…" he said as he walked past her, "Go to sleep…" he said as he went back inside the room.

Syrup sighed, "I never was good at words…" she sighed.

She fell into a chair on the ground, exhausted.

"I don't have a way with words like you do…" she muttered as she stared up at the night sky.

* * *

Yuzu yawned as she awoke in her bed, though still physically exhausted.

"What happened…?" She wondered out loud.

She suddenly remembered, "That's right! I won…!" She gasped.

Just to make sure it wasn't a dream, she held her arm out.

A red and green card appeared in it.

"I… I actually unlocked pendulum!" She exclaimed.

She looked around at her surroundings, it was nighttime, and her sisters were probably asleep.

"Was… I out that long…?" She wondered out loud.

She was dressed in her pajamas, which consisted of just simple white pajamas with light-pink stripes along with some pants and a button-up shirt.

A note was by her bed, reading:

_Good morning, sleepyhead!_

_We weren't sure when you were going to wake up, so we've just been alternating notes at different times._

_As of right now, you've been out for about eight to ten hours, and as it's nighttime, nobody could manage to stay awake much longer, so we put this thing here in case you woke up in the middle of the night._

_We really wanna talk later! Go to sleep so you can wake up in the morning and we can pester you!_

_Love ~ Serena, Rin, and Ruri._

_P.S. Don't worry, we made sure the boys were locked into their room while we got you changed for bed :)_

_P.P.S. Nevermind, as we were writing that, Yugo managed to break in through the balcony, don't worry though, he regretted it._

**Yugo-Being-A-Perv Counter: 5**

_P.P.P.S. Shun visited as well, but he was worried about you so much that we had to kick him out before he stressed everyone out too much/killed Yuri (Don't ask)_

Yuzu giggled, a little sad that she hadn't been present to see all of the misadventures that happened while she was out.

She suddenly heard the noise of footsteps.

She slowly tiptoed out of her room and past all of her sister's rooms, peering through the connecting door between the girls' room and the boys' room.

Yuya was walking past, his pants on, but in the process of putting on a T-Shirt.

Yuzu jumped backward and put her hand to her mouth to halt any sound from escaping her as her face turned tomato-red.

_Why is Yuya awake!?_

She heard the noise of the front-door unlocking, and she took another peek.

Yuya was walking out the door, fully-dressed, mind you… don't get any wrong ideas.

"Where are you going…?" Yuzu whispered.

_Later…_

After waiting a good amount of time, Yuzu crept out of her front door and into the hotel's hallway, just as Yuya turned the corner.

Yuzu quickly speed-walked after him, being careful not to make a sound, and simultaneously realizing that she forgot to put shoes on.

Eh, whatever.

Eventually, Yuya reached the elevator, and Yuzu watched from behind the nearest corner as he entered it.

"Where are you going…?" She wondered out loud as the elevator door closed behind Yuya.

She carefully watched the display above the elevator door to see which floor it stopped on.

**Floor 5**

When Yuzu confirmed that it didn't move after that, she quickly ran over and hit the down button on the wall, waiting for the next elevator to take her to the fifth floor.

"_Wait… why am I stalking him like this…?" _Yuzu thought as she took an elevator down to the fifth floor, "_Why don't I just ask him where he's going?" _She wondered.

She took a look at the hotel-guide on the wall of the elevator, looking for facilities listed under Floor 5.

There was only one facility there… the training room.

Still confused, she reached the fifth floor and crept over to the training rooms, still being sneaky for a reason that she couldn't explain.

She finally reached the rooms, where only one was labeled "Occupied"

She could hear the faint sounds of battle from within the room, only barely able to be heard because of the soundproof room.

She peered in through the window in the door, and as expected, Yuya was inside.

It had taken her a bit of time to get to the rooms because of her apparent need to be as subtle as possible, so it looked like he had already been training for a bit.

The setting looked like it was in a gladiator colosseum… and five overly-large gladiators were now laying on the ground, currently disappearing into tiny blue particles.

"_Spiral Strike Burst!" _

Yuzu watched as Yuya's signature stream of flames blasted through a giant chimera-like lion, blasting it against a wall as it fell, disappearing into tiny blue particles.

Yuya shifted back to normal as the action-field disappeared, he looked exhausted.

But he had won, regardless.

Yuzu felt like this might be a good time to stop being a stalker.

She opened the door and walked in, surprising the red and green-haired boy.

"Hey… what are you doing here?" She asked.

"Yuzu, you're awake…!" Yuya said as a smile formed on his face, "I'm glad… you were out for a while…" he said as his shoulders relaxed.

"Again, what are you doing here?" Yuzu asked with a pout.

Yuya smiled sheepishly, "I couldn't sleep… I guess you could call it a nightmare?" He said nonchalantly.

Yuzu frowned, "So… you get up at midnight to train?" She asked.

Yuya pouted, "Hey, you're up as well!" He playfully shot back.

They both pouted at each other before bursting into laughter.

"Ha… man, you surprised me, though!" Yuya pointed out, "Seriously, now you can use Pendulum as well!" He exclaimed.

Yuzu examined his face, he looked genuinely happy.

Yuzu smiled, "Thanks… It sort of just… happened, kind of like you did!" She said with a smile.

Yuya rubbed the back of his head, "Well if I'm being honest, it's just now hitting me that I'm not the only one who can use Pendulum now…" he said with a small grin, "I still don't know how Reiji or Sawatari got a hold of it… but I think… I felt proud when I saw you use it…" he said softly.

Yuzu smiled, "Well, it's not like you taught me or anything!" She joked.

"Ha! I guess you're right!" Yuya said sheepishly.

It was just a simple conversation with a friend, yet for some reason, Yuzu felt elated.

"So, did you get up because of a nightmare?" Yuzu asked.

Yuya rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Well, kind of…" Yuya replied, "I've had the same dream for a while lately… and I know I'm scared of it… but during the dream, I feel so… happy?" He said as though he was questioning his explanation.

"Really? What's it like?" Yuzu asked, her curiosity now piqued.

Yuya rubbed his forehead, "Well… I'm taller… and I'm standing at the top of this really big podium with a trophy in my hands…" Yuya began to explain, "I felt incredibly happy, but the strange part is that I'm taller than I usually am… and my voice is… different, but similar…" he tried to explain.

"You do know that you're being confusing, right?" Yuzu teased.

Yuya laughed, "I know! But I can't think of any other way to explain it!" He exclaimed, "And it seems like a good dream at first, but then a bunch of stuff happened… and I started saying some… scary things…" he said with a frown.

"What did you say?" Yuzu questioned.

"It's hard to say…" Yuya admitted, "A bunch of stuff that you might hear Yuri say if he ever went full-evil," he said jokingly.

This earned him a giggle from Yuzu and gave him a wider smile.

"Then I wake up, and it's really hard getting back to sleep after that, so I just do whatever I can to use up some energy…" he said as he gestured towards the entirety of the room.

"Wow… must be some dream…" Yuzu said as she started thinking about the dream because something about it seemed familiar.

"One strange thing about this time though…" Yuya pointed out half-mindedly, "I never heard myself or anybody else speak my name out loud before… but tonight, I heard them say it… but it was weird…" he pointed out.

Again, it seemed way too familiar, "What do you mean?" Yuzu asked.

"Like… static seemed to block out my name every time somebody tried to say it, or even when I tried to say it…" he muttered, "What's even weirder is that if I DO hear something through the static, it doesn't sound like anybody is trying to say 'Yuya'" he pointed out.

Static.

It was like a lightbulb had flicked on inside Yuzu's head.

She had experienced something exactly like that before.

When she awakened to Pendulum.

"Yuya… you know how you said that you were in some sort of… void, when you first awakened to Pendulum?" She asked.

"Hm? Yeah, of course, I do," Yuya replied, "Though I wonder if I was just dreaming…" he wondered.

"Yuya, I experienced something just like what you described when I first used Pendulum…" Yuzu said softly.

Yuya's eyes widened, "Really?" He asked.

Yuzu nodded, "I… I think we should discuss what Pendulum, well, is…" she said with a serious look on her face.

Yuya nodded, it was about time that they put their information together.

* * *

"So, the one thing that's the same with our experiences, is that we appeared in this strange void, where the floor is water and reflects the sky…" Yuzu recounted.

"And we saw our monsters while we were there," Yuya added, "Well, I saw Odd-Eyes and my magicians, at least…" he admitted.

"I couldn't transform while I was there…" Yuzu pointed out.

"I didn't try, but maybe we can assume that it was the same for me…?" Yuya questioned.

Yuya suddenly fell backward, "AGH! This hurts my head!" He yelled frustratingly.

"You saw your two magicians in there, as well as watched Odd-Eyes evolve…" Yuzu kept thinking out loud, "But when I was there, I saw this strange girl who was chained to the ground, and when I freed her, she disappeared and I saw a vision…" he kept going.

"And in that vision, it was just like when we first met, but with different people, who were both silhouettes… and, uh…" Yuya tried to keep up with Yuzu, but he looked like he was about to pass out.

"Maybe we should have written all of this down…" Yuzu sighed.

"No, no! I got it!" Yuya exclaimed, "When they both tried to say their names, static drowned it out, which is the same thing that happens in the dream that I've been having for about a week… which might simply be coincidental…" he managed to get it all out.

"And how did Reiji get to do it!?" Yuzu explained as she finally managed to confuse herself.

Both of them sighed, exhausted.

The fact that it was midnight was finally starting to catch up with them… it might be past midnight at this point.

"I think we should pack it in for the night…" Yuzu sighed.

Yuya nodded his head vigorously.

Yuzu fell backward, letting out a big sigh of relief.

Yuya glanced at her, only to regret it immediately after.

Neither of them had noticed it yet, but while Yuya had pants and a t-shirt, Yuzu was _only _in Pajamas.

She hadn't noticed it yet because she had her right arm lay across her face in exhaustion, but her button-up shirt had fallen upward, revealing her waist.

And that wasn't even the most provoking part.

One of the top buttons wasn't done, and her cleavage was _a little too easy to see._

Not to mention, that if you looked closely, you would notice one crucial detail to her entire getup.

Yuya shot a hand up to his nose and looked away.

_There was no bra._

Yuya coughed loudly, "U-Um, w-we should probably h-head back to oUr rooms…!" Yuya's voice cracked.

"Yeah, that's a good idea…" Yuzu said as she slowly stood up, "Come on then… I think we're both tired enough to fall asleep now…" she said, seemingly having not noticed her current look.

Yuya followed Yuzu as they left the room, only to realize yet ANOTHER mistake.

Her back was sweaty (why and how?), and the back of her shirt now clung to her bareback, which was now wide open for the world to see.

It is SURPRISINGLY provoking to see the bareback of a girl.

Yuya quickly ran to Yuzu's _side _rather than staying behind her, while averting his eyes the whole time.

Yuzu simply gave him a confused look before continuing to walk on, completely oblivious.

* * *

In a bar, you can find many different groups of people.

But it's still rare to see what was inside this particular bar.

Yuma finished gulping down a beverage from the shot glass, his face bright red.

"FUWAAH!" He exclaimed as he leaned back into his chair, "Man, my class sure has all of the strong kids, doesn't it!" He said drunkenly.

"Oh, shuddup…" Judai groaned as he laid his head on the table, clearly wasted.

Yusei put down a shot glass, his face red, but still looking sober. "He is right, though," he pointed out, "Yuma's class seems to have the most interesting members, so far this year…" he mentioned.

"Yuuuseeeei…" Judai groaned, "I'm supposed to be your favorite! What happened to your blatant favoritism?" He asked, his words slurring.

Yusei ignored him.

Judai clutched his heart, "I'm hurt, Yusei, I am truly hurt… look at me Yusei, look at how heartbroken I am…!" He gasped.

"That's nice…" Yusei replied.

"Yusei, I thank you for your support!" Yuma cried out dramatically.

"Mkay…" Yusei replied emotionlessly.

Judai acted like he was dying, making dramatic choking noises while rolling around on the floor, before laying limply on the floor, his tongue sticking out as he posed dramatically.

Yugi suddenly joined the group, looking absolutely and completely drunk.

"Guys… I have this cool idea… *hic*" Yugo said as he downed another shot glass, "What if… and hear me out… what if we changed this school… into a school… where kids learn to play… card games…?" He asked.

"We would be the laughingstock of the whole world, that's what would happen…" Yusei replied bluntly.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Judai said excitedly, "What if we taught kids how to play card games on motorcycles!?" He yelled.

"Everything becomes better when a motorcycle is involved, but that just seems dangerous…" Yusei said bluntly.

"It would be our trademark!" Judai exclaimed.

"Ooh! I have a better idea!" Yuma suddenly joined in, "Card games… but in SPACE!" He yelled.

"That is a terrible idea…" Yusei groaned.

"It is a GREAT idea, damn it!" Yuma yelled.

Yusei looked over at the bartender, who looked like this was a common occurrence, and looked completely calm.

"Guys… can somebody give me a ride home?" Yuma asked.

"Sure, Yuma…" Yusei groaned.

"What!? But Yusei! You were going to be my ride back!" Judai yelled.

"I'm the only one sober, and I only have one D-Wheel… so catch a taxi or something…" Yusei groaned.

"But I'm supposed to be your favorite!" Judai wailed.

"That's nice Judai…" Yusei replied.

* * *

"The beach…" Serena pouted.

"Huh?" Ruri noticed Serena's mumbling.

"We are on a tropical, man-made island… and we haven't gone to the beach, ONCE!" Serena suddenly yelled.

"Huh?" Rin lifted her head to look at Serena.

"Get the boys, get your swimsuits! We're going to the beach today!" She yelled.

"Wasn't that already the plan?" Yuzu asked as she entered the room, wearing a white T-Shirt over a pink bikini.

"Huh?" Serena tilted her head.

Three knocks were heard coming from the door that connected their room to the boys. "Hey? You girls ready?" Yuto's voice rang through the door.

"Almost!" Ruri said as she walked over to Serena.

"Go get changed already!" Ruri said with a smile.

"YES!" Serena yelled as she dashed into her room to get changed.

* * *

"You think this is a good spot?" Yuya asked as he and his brothers each lugged large beach equipment, such as a large umbrella and various beach chairs, over to an open spot.

"Yeah, let's set up here and wait for the girls to arrive…" Yuto said as he hoisted the umbrella into the air and jabbed the bottom into the sand.

"Man… the girls in swimsuits…!" Yugo said as he threw an arm around Yuya, "Can you believe it!?" He exclaimed.

"Careful Fusion, you don't want Rin to slug you again, do you?" Yuri said snarkily.

"My name is Yugo! Not Fusion, damn it!" Yugo yelled back.

"I see you guys have already gotten a place set up!"

Everyone turned to see the girls walking towards them.

Yuzu was wearing a simple pink bikini with frills, Rin wearing the same thing, though it was mint-green. Serena had gone with a simple blue bikini, while Ruri had gone with the same thing, only purple and with a purple sarong tied around her waist.

Each of the boys blushed as they instinctively stared at the girls.

Yuzu blushed and covered herself embarrassingly, "D-Don't stare so much…" she whined.

"Yugo, close your jaw and look where my eyes are, not anything below that!" Rin exclaimed.

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Yugo said as he quickly shot his eyes up to look into Rin's eyes, only to slowly return to staring at "everything else" the second he got a chance.

"What?" Serena asked with a confused head-tilt.

Yuri snickered, "Man, Serena… have you put on some weight?" He asked snarkily.

She hadn't, and Yuri didn't think she did, but he didn't care.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you!" Serena said as she glared at Yuri, "Mind telling me what you said again?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing~!" Yuri said nonchalantly, "Just that you _definitely_ look great~!" He finished.

"How do I look?" Ruri asked as she looked at Yuto expectantly.

Yuto blushed and tried to look away, "I-It looks nice…!" He stuttered.

"_Yuto, you're my best friend, but keep your hands off my sisters…"_

Yuto gulped as Shun's words flashed through his head.

At the time, it was easy to keep to Yuto's word… but his increasing heart rate whenever he was around Ruri was something that he knew Shun wouldn't approve of.

He quickly turned and focused on setting up the umbrella for everybody, tuning out the conversation behind him.

* * *

Roger, the headmaster of Sector Academy, was a man of many secrets.

You would often find him monitoring something on a large screen, a chessboard in front of him while he sits with a smug grin on his face.

Today, however… he stood amongst a group of scientists, observing an incredibly large man with white hair, lying on a hard platform as machines began to move closer to his unconscious body.

One thing that was off about him… well, it was multiple things… he had cybernetic enhancements.

He was a cyborg.

"Commence concealment program number five…" a scientist said emotionlessly.

The metal bits of the man suddenly glowed, before vanishing completely and giving him a normal human appearance.

"Program number five… is successful," the scientist said as he jotted something down on a clipboard, "He should be ready for battle by tomorrow, Mr. Roger…" the scientist said to the headmaster.

"Good, make sure that he crushes his opponents and makes it into the next round of the tournament…" Roger said with a smile, "We shall unveil his true strength when the teams are broken up, and the fights become solo battles…" he explained.

"Yes, sir!" The scientists declared.

"Oh, and that team of girls that Leo is interested in?" Roger continued as he turned and walked towards the door, "Should they make it to the next round… make sure that Sergey is placed against one of them right away…" he finished with a sinister smile.

* * *

"Hey! Yuya, that's cold!"

"Hehe! Catch me if you can!"

"Oh, it's on!"

Yuri and Serena observed Yuya and Yuzu, who were now fooling around in the water without a care in the world.

"God, they are so confusing…" Yuri mumbled, "You would think that they would be closer into a relationship at this point… but they're just friends… and they're fine with it!" He said angrily.

Serena sighed. "I think that's a good thing… they can decide how fast a relationship forms if it ever does…" she said as she downed a bottle of water.

"DAAAAAARLIIIIIIING!"

Yuri turned his head in confusion, only to see a small girl with long orange and puffy hair dashing across the beach towards… Yuya?

"Oh yeah… didn't this one Ritual chick fall in love with him or something during the preliminaries?" Yuri wondered out loud.

"Yuzu should hurry… I think she's just gotten herself involved in a love triangle!" Serena said giddily.

The two pranksters watched as the tiny girl clad in a blue one-piece swimsuit jumped into the water and tackled Yuya, much to Yuzu's surprise.

"Well, she looks like the exact opposite of Yuzu when it comes to feelings of affection…" Yuri muttered.

"Hey, kudos to her for being able to be so open about her feelings…" Serena replied.

"H-Huh!? Mieru!?" Yuya exclaimed as he regained his balance, the small girl clinging to him with all of her might.

"Watch, Yuzu's face is gonna turn red and she's gonna get mad at Yuya…" Yuri deadpanned.

True to his words, Yuzu's face turned scarlet. "Yuya… who is this girl…?" She said menacingly.

"Ooh, this sounds fun…" Serena said with a grin, "Look, Yuya is gonna get all flustered, and then Yuzu is gonna slug him…" she continued Yuri's prediction.

"I-It's just somebody that I met in the preliminary round-" Yuya tried to explain himself.

"He's my darling! And we're gonna get married and have ten kids…" Mieru started to speak.

Yuzu's eyebrow twitched as she clenched her right hand into a fist. "YUYA!" She yelled.

A loud "whack" was heard (courtesy of Yuzu's fist meeting Yuya's head), and Yuya went down for a moment before desperately trying to escape, even with Mieru clinging to him and slowing him down.

"How the hell did Yuya manage to get two girls to be smitten by him?" Yuri asked out loud.

"It's not because of physical appearance since his face looks the same as yours, and you're an asshole," Serena deadpanned.

"This coming from the gorilla-girl that's capable of doing suplexes on a full-grown man?" Yuri playfully shot back.

"Who's a gorilla, asshole?" Serena shot back.

Yuri grinned evilly at her, "You, of course, bitch!" Yuri said with a sneer-like grin.

"Douchebag!" Serena shot back with a grin, accepting Yuri's silent challenge.

The next ten minutes consisted of them throwing as many insults they could throw at each other before getting tired, which lasted about ten minutes.

Finally, they stopped, and a moment of silence passed…

Suddenly, both were literally at each other's necks, attempting to strangle the other.

"Bitch, you wanna go!?" Yuri choked.

"I could take you with one _*cough* _hand behind my back!" Serena spat.

Then, as quickly as it had escalated… they collapsed backward and gasped for air.

"You need to work on your insults…" Yuri sighed.

"You were lackluster today…" Serena groaned.

Yuto stared at the two with visible confusion.

"Screw Yuya and Yuzu… what the hell is wrong with you two!?" He yelled.

"I think they're somewhere along the lines of mortal-enemies and best-friends…" Ruri chimed.

"So… Best Mortal Frenemies?" Yugo said, butting into the conversation out of nowhere, and Rin behind him.

"What kind of relationship involves mercilessly insulting each other, trying to kill each other, and then shaking hands afterward?" Rin asked.

"The kind that Yuri is involved in…" Yuto groaned.

"I'd call them partners in crime… but I'm pretty sure they'd try to sabotage each other the entire time…" Ruri giggled.

As she said that, the two sat up and did a fist bump, crossed arms, and stuck out their middle fingers at each other.

"What kind of secret handshake is that!?" Yugo exclaimed.

* * *

After Mieru was dragged off by her friends, as well as the two boys who had been on her team, along with a string of apologies, Yuya could finally recover from the beating he had taken from a totally-not-jealous Yuzu.

"Ow… you could've eased up a little, you know…" Yuya whined.

"Hmph!" Yuzu huffed.

"I'm surprised, Yuya!" Yuri teased as they rejoined the group. "Yuto is known as the pretty face of out of us brothers, but not even he has a fangirl… yet, at least." He said with a shit-eating grin.

"How am I the pretty face? We all have the same face!" Yuto exclaimed.

"I think it's the attitude and body language…" Ruri thought out loud, "Yuto gives off a mature and serious vibe, and I think that's a _very _good trait for a guy!" She said with a smile.

Yuto's face turned red and he turned away.

"Ruri, are you flirting?" Serena asked.

"Huh? How am I flirting?" Ruri asked in confusion.

"Well… you know what? Nevermind…" Serena said quickly.

"Agh! I'm bored!" Yugo exclaimed suddenly, causing everybody to jump in surprise.

"Yugo, we're at a beach! How are you bored!?" Rin scolded him.

"We need to spice things up!" Yugo declared, "We need to play a game! I vote for the Kings Game!" Yugo shouted excitedly.

"Hell no! What if you or Yuri gets to be king!?" Rin yelled.

"Hey! You can't just say something like that to my face!" Yugo shouted.

"What about truth or dare?" Ruri suggested.

"That seems just as dangerous… and why at a beach?" Yuya pointed out.

"Yeah, isn't truth or dare an indoor game?" Yuzu continued off of Yuya's comment.

"Exactly! That's why it'll be unique if we do it at a beach!" Ruri exclaimed.

"Exactly how 'unique' can something as truth or dare become…?" Yuto questioned.

"Depends on the people playing it…" Yuri said with an evil-looking grin.

"I request reasonable demands!" Rin yelled.

"Wait, so we _are _doing this!?" Yuzu yelled in a panic.

"I can't believe I'm at the beach and I'm stuck playing truth or dare…" Serena mumbled sourly.

"I'm sure it will be fine!" Yugo said nonchalantly as they sat down in a circle under the umbrella.

"So, who should go first?" Yuya asked.

"Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!" Yugo said as he bounced in his seat like a hyperactive child.

"Definitely not Yuri, Yugo, or Serena…" Yuzu said firmly, knowing that Yugo was a pervert, and both Yuri and Serena were both somewhere between chaotic neutral and chaotic good.

"You're just delaying the inevitable~!" Yuri said evilly.

"Then, how about Yuya?" Rin suggested.

Everybody looked at the resident purest-of-boys in the circle.

"U-Uh…" Yuya stuttered nervously. "Uh, S-Serena! Truth or dare!" He said, picking at random.

"Dare! Bring it on!" Serena yelled bravely.

Yuya had been hoping she had picked truth because he had something if she said truth… but he hadn't thought of a dare yet.

"I… uh… um… ah…" Yuya started going in circles as he tried to improvise a dare.

"UHH, I dare you to uhh… make a funny face…?" Yuya stammered.

The group went silent.

Yuri suddenly burst out laughing, "Yuya, that dare sucks!" He laughed, "But somehow, it's perfect!" He exclaimed.

"Dude… I can't picture Serena making a funny face…" Yugo said in mild disbelief.

"Well, it's not like her personality would allow it…" Rin replied similarly.

Serena's face had gone blank, and Yuri was digging around in his bag for his phone. "I need to get this on camera! Serena Kurosaki of all people, making a _funny face_!" He exclaimed.

Yuto coughed to hide his chuckles. "It's so strange… such a tame dare is gonna be something…" he muttered.

Serena glared at Yuya, causing the boy to jump back in fright.

"I'm going to make sure you pay for this, later…" she growled.

"Eep!" Yuya yelped.

"I would _not _have thought of this… but it's ingenious!" Yuri cackled.

"Shut up! It's just a funny face!" Serena yelled as her face reddened.

"I can't, for the life of me, picture you doing a funny face…!" Yuri gasped for air.

"It feels wrong when I try to…" Yuzu mumbled.

"Oh, shut up, all of you!" Serena yelled indignantly, "It's just a facial expression! It's not a big deal! Watch!" She yelled.

With that, she stuck her fingers into the inside of her mouth and pulled at her cheeks, making the standard funny-face that children usually did.

Yuri snapped a photo, a wide grin on his face.

"This seems painful to look at… but also kind of hilarious?" Yugo said with visible confusion on his face.

"That's a cursed image that I'm never getting out of my brain…" Rin said bluntly.

Serena sat down as she returned her facial expression to normal, her face red.

"Something is going in your pillow tonight, and you aren't gonna like it…" Serena said menacingly.

Yuya gulped in fear while making a mental note to lock his door, borrow a carnivorous plant from Yuri to guard him at night, and sleep lightly.

ANd yes, Yuri did bring at least five different carnivorous plants with him, which he used to guard his room at night.

He said that they could eat a human, but nobody could be sure… because nobody was brave/dumb enough to test it.

It was Serena's turn now, and she looked right at Yugo.

"Yugo, truth or dare?" She asked.

"Dare!" Yugo yelled bravely.

Serena shot Yuri a knowing glance, which he returned in kind.

"I dare you to hit on a woman here at the beach," Serena said with a grin.

"Seriously!? Sure!" Yugo said with a large grin on his face.

"Wait! It has to be somebody specific on this beach…" Serena said as her grin slowly turned into an evil sneer.

"Um… okay…?" Yugo said as he got a little nervous.

"Yuri? Who should we have him hit on?" Serena asked with a goody-gumdrop smile on her face.

Yuri returned a similar smile, "Oh, why don't we spare him a little bit? How about that busty-looking babe over there?" He said almost a _little _too happily.

Yugo looked at where Yuri was pointing, and his eyes nearly flew out of their sockets.

"You mean… that lady?" Yugo asked in disbelief.

"Yup!" Yuri said with a smile that could have gotten him mistaken for Yuya.

"The… mature looking… one?" Yugo continued.

"Uh-huh!" Serena said with a similar smile.

"The one with massive jugs-" Yugo tried to confirm again.

"Yes! Now go!" Yuri said as he pushed him away from the umbrella.

Rin's face was bright red. "What are you making him do!?" She yelled as her face turned scarlet.

"Shh… watch…!" Yuri hissed as his smile turned into an evil sneer.

They couldn't hear the conversation Yugo had with the lady, but they saw him walk up confidently, say something to the lady, which then caused the lady to laugh.

"Oh my god… is Yugo's shitty flirting gonna work!?" Yuto gasped.

"No, watch…" Serena grinned.

Suddenly, a massive man with inhumanly large muscles and a speedo walked up from behind Yugo.

Yugo was oblivious as he continued talking with a wide grin on his face, unaware of the hulk-sized man behind him that threatened to block out the sun.

"Wait… it that guy…?" Yuya asked.

Yugo suddenly noticed that he was suddenly in the shade, and looked behind him.

His jaw dropped as he looked up at the massive man, who was now cracking his knuckles.

"Oh, you had him hit on someone with a boyfriend…" Ruri said as she finally understood what was happening.

"I suggest that you all look away if you're faint-of-heart…" Yuri said with a grin.

_Ten painful minutes later._

Yugo rejoined the group, his face covered in purple bruises, and one of his eyes badly swollen.

"Foo neffer phold me phat tchee haa a girlphrenn…" Yugo spoke through a swollen mouth, clearly pissed at Yuri.

"Um, what?" Rin asked.

"Yuya, translate him for us, please!" Yuri said cheerfully.

Yuya cleared his throat. "He said: You never told me that she had a girlfriend…" he said calmly.

"Foor a freal itch, foo yo phat, aye?" Yugo slurred.

"You're a real bitch, you know that, right?" Yuya translated.

Yugo had learned a very valuable lesson that day…

Giant bodybuilder boyfriends are terrifying.

"Oh, stop it with the voice!" Yuto scolded, "Your face isn't that beaten up!" He said as he pulled on Yugo's ear.

"Ow! Oww!" Yugo exclaimed, "It still hurts, though!" He yelled as he rubbed his swollen cheek and eye.

"Alright, it's Yugo's turn now!" Yuya pointed out.

Yugo's eyes flashed for a brief moment. "Rin! Truth or dare?" He asked with a gleam in his eyes.

"Well, I'm not taking a dare from Yugo of all people…" Rin sighed, "Truth!" She declared.

Yugo's grin _widened_, "Perfect! I have just the question!" He said with a grin.

Rin wondered if she was about to regret her decision.

"Alright Rin, answer truthfully now!" He said giddily, "What's your kink?" He asked.

Rin's face turned red, Yuzu gasped, Serena laughed, and Ruri put a hand to her mouth in surprise.

"Do you wanna die!?" Rin exclaimed.

"No! You have to answer it! You picked truth!" Yugo yelled defensively.

"Rin, it can't be worse than anything Yugo could dare you to do…" Serena grinned.

**Yugo-Being-A-Perv Counter: 5**

"I think we should stop before anything bad happens…" Yuzu said nervously.

"What!? No! I'm having way too much fun!" Yuri said as he pretended to pout.

"We'll stop when everyone has gone… so no picking anyone who's already gone!" Yuto declared.

"Mood killer!" Yuri yelled in complaint.

"Well? Answer the question…" Serena said deviously.

Rin gulped. "I… I like…" she whispered.

"Huh? What?" Yugo said as her whispers got so quiet that nobody could hear her.

"I-I like… neck… stuff…" Rin said while blushing madly.

"Neck stuff?" Serena questioned, "Like… hickeys and vampire bites?" She asked.

Rin finally burst. "Yes! Okay!? I have a thing for neck teasing! Particularly when it involves biting or sucking!" She burst out.

She suddenly realized just how loud she was because she seemed to have caught the attention of about five other people outside of the group.

Her face was so red that Yugo genuinely worried that she might need to go to the hospital.

"Damn it! IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou so much!" She yelled as she threw herself to the ground and covered her face with a towel.

"Rin? Are you okay?" Yugo said teasingly.

"Die in a hole, pervert…" Rin's muffled voice responded.

"Don't worry, she doesn't mean it!" Serena said nonchalantly.

"Keep pushing me and I might start meaning it!" Rin yelled back through the towel.

Yuya groaned, "This is a mess…" he muttered.

* * *

After what seemed like forever, they finally managed to finish the game.

Rin was merciful and dared Yuya to make some kids laugh, which he had taken with a wide smile as he rummaged through his bag and pulled out a stack of cards.

After that, he walked over to some children and showed them the cards. He was too far away for them to hear him, but they assumed that it was a classic "is this your card?" Trick.

What surprised them, however, was that after one of the kids took a card, Yuya flaunted his incredible unpredictability.

He reached over to take something from behind the kid's ear, only to suddenly buckle over as if he was in pain.

The kid looked at him with worry but suddenly laughed as Yuya suddenly coughed up a card as though he was throwing up.

"Wait, how did he do that?" Ruri asked.

"Yuya spends way too much time practicing magic tricks…" Yuto explained.

Yuya picked the card up from the sand and showed it to him, and the boy's eyes widened as they heard the boy scream: "That's my card!"

Yuya had performed his dare spectacularly.

Afterward, Yuya had to ask someone for truth or dare once again.

This time, he targeted Yuri.

Yuri, thinking that Yuya couldn't possibly think of anything too terrifying, picked dare.

He regretted it the second Yuya had dared him to lie on Serena's lap.

He glared at Serena from below. "Not. A. Word…" he hissed.

Serena gave a playful pout. "Awww, is the widdle wuwi tired…?" She said in a baby voice, which visibly annoyed Yuri.

"Yuya, you're forgiven!" Serena said as she mentally tortured the purple-haired boy.

"Yuya, you're sleeping on the balcony tonight…" Yuri said coldly.

Yuri was next, and he went straight for Yuzu.

"I'm not taking a dare from Yuri," she stated bluntly, "Truth!"

Yuri snickered while ignoring Serena, who was now braiding his hair as he laid helplessly in her lap.

"How do you feel about Yuya?" Yuri asked.

"DARE! DARE!" Yuzu screamed.

"Okay, I dare you to tell us how you feel about Yuya!" Yuri said evilly.

"Yuri, it can't be the same thing…" Yuto groaned.

"Yes, it can, wanna fight?" Yuri challenged.

"Pick something different!" Yuto yelled.

Yuri scoffed at him. "Fine…" he groaned, "Yuzu I dare you to be buried in the sand, vertically, for the rest of the game…" he said with a tone of disappointment.

Yuzu wasn't fond of the idea of being stuck, buried up to her head, but it was better than the alternatives that Yuri had given her.

"Kind of tame, no?" Serena taunted him.

"Shut up, bitch…" Yuri growled.

"Aw, he's cranky!" Serena teased.

With that, they all pitched in and dug a hole that was about 5'3 in height, considering that she was 5'2.

And with that, they now had Yuzu's head sticking out of the ground almost comically.

"Wow Yuzu, you're a**head** of the competition!" Yugo said, thinking that his pun was funny.

Everybody turned to glare at him.

"Yugo, say another pun, and we'll stick you in the ground like Yuzu," Yuri threatened, "And you'll be going in headfirst, by the way…" he said coldly.

Everybody nodded in agreement.

"Alright! No more puns! Geez…" Yugo mumbled.

"It's my turn, right?" Yuzu asked.

Yuya snickered as he knelt next to her. "Yuzu… I can't take you seriously like that…!" He laughed.

That earned him a prompt bite to the leg from the angry head in the ground.

While Yuya clutched his leg in pain, Yuzu looked at Ruri.

"Truth or dare?" She asked.

"Hm… how about dare?" Ruri decided.

"Alright, how about this?" Yuzu said as she pondered her options, "Take a picture of yourself and send it to Shun, but it has to be something that'll get him mad!" She declared.

"I don't like where this is going…" Yuto said under his breath.

The following challenges and events consisted of:

Ruri taking a picture of herself kissing Yuto on the cheek, despite Yuto's desperate protests.

This would then cause Shun to appear about five minutes later, ready to kill somebody until he was eventually calmed down, and the situation was explained.

Regardless, he left while giving Yuto a glance that screamed: "Watch yourself…"

It was at that point that they decided that stopping the game would be in everybody's best interests.

* * *

Soul walked along with Syrup, both of them were silent.

"Soul… what do you plan to do?" She asked.

Soul shrugged, "I had been keeping the Blade-Messiah's down because they reminded me of my power… but since I've already gone and revealed it… I'll be using it a lot more, so don't expect to see Armed Dragon for a while…" Soul said nonchalantly.

"I see…" Syrup said as she thought to herself.

"Soul, that was your grandfather the other day, right?" Syrup asked.

"Yeah, why?" Soul replied while yawning.

"Didn't he say something about how keeping that power down wasn't good for-" she started to ask but was cut off.

By the sound of Soul suddenly falling over and coughing violently.

"Soul!" Syrup yelled as she dashed to his side.

He was coughing violently, almost hacking.

He suddenly put a hand to his mouth as he let out an even louder, and from the way it sounded, an even more painful cough.

Syrup managed to catch a glimpse of red in his hands.

She yanked his hand towards her and gasped.

There was blood… had he coughed this up?

"Soul! Are you coughing blood!?" She exclaimed.

Soul gasped for air but didn't answer her question.

"Soul!" Syrup said sternly.

Soul sighed as his breathing slowed back down to normal. "Yes, now leave it alone…" he sighed.

"I will not! We need to get you to the hospital! This is serious!" She exclaimed.

"The hospital can't do shit!" Soul suddenly snapped at her.

"What…?" Syrup said softly.

Soul sighed. "I put a seal on my power, my monster…" Soul began to explain, "It was so I never lost control again… and it was fine at first…" he said as he pulled out a napkin and started wiping the blood off of his hand.

"Soul, don't tell me…" Syrup whispered.

Soul simply nodded. "After about a year of therapy and keeping the damn thing under control… I started getting colder…" he said as he stared right into her eyes, "At first I thought it was just the season… but then summer came, and while everybody was sweating buckets… I felt like I was standing outside during the winter without a jacket…" he explained.

He stared at her for a second, checking to make sure she was listening.

"Sealing has side effects…" he sighed, "As I spent more time with a seal active, my body slowly started to change…" he explained.

"In… what way?" She asked.

Soul pointed at his hoodie, "My body lost the ability to regulate body temperature properly…" he explained, "Even when it's hot out, I'll still feel cold, which is why I'm always wearing this thing…" he said while pointing at his hoodie.

Syrup's eyes widened. "You… can't be serious…" she said softly.

"Except that I am serious…" Soul said coldly, "The other side effect is the coughing fit you just saw me do… though that's a lot more recent…" he said as his voice softened.

"Soul… what's happening to you?" Syrup asked.

Soul stared at her with a cold look in his eye.

"I'm dying, I'd give myself about one more year before my body just shuts down completely…" he said calmly.

"You can't!" Syrup yelled, "Isn't there a way to stop it?" She asked.

"Yeah, I have to remove the seal, that's the only way…" Soul replied, "But that's never happening…" he said coldly.

"But…!" Syrup started to exclaim.

"Listen, I've made my peace with this…" Soul cut her off, "If I take the seal off, I'll go berserk, and somebody will probably die again…" he said.

Silence filled the area. Syrup was at a loss.

"You can still cut me off, you know…" Soul suggested, "It'd probably be for the best…" he said as he turned away from her.

"No! You're stuck with me!" Syrup said confidently, "And I'll find a way to save you, as well!" She declared before suddenly running off.

"I'm not going to let you die… I won't make that mistake again…!" Syrup gasped as she ran, "Even if it means I have to remove the seal myself…" she said.

* * *

"Serena, do you mind reapplying suntan lotion on my bag?" Rin asked as they watched everybody else goofing off in the water.

And by "goofing off" she meant that they were either trying to drown Yugo for ogling at the girl's swimsuits or trying to stop Yugo from drowning.

"Sure, hold on…' Serena said as she pulled out the bottle of suntan lotion and squeezed some into her hand as Rin laid on her stomach.

"Hm…?" Serena said as she noticed Rin's expression.

She looked incredibly stressed.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked with a look of concern.

"Huh?" Rin turned her head in confusion, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She asked.

Serena frowned, "You have that look on your face," she pointed out, "You know, the one that screams 'I am under immense stress' like a neon sign?" She joked.

Rin sighed, "Okay, you've got me…" she gave in.

"So? Spill the beans…" Serena said as she ruffled her sister's hair.

Rin groaned, "Remember that guy who won't leave me alone? Well, Yugo got too involved when he was defending me, and now they're going to be _dueling _over me…" she sighed.

Serena raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Already getting boys to fight over you?" She teased.

"It's not funny!" Rin exclaimed, "Yaiba wants to date me if he wins, and Yugo is just dueling for me to have a choice… but I don't wanna date anybody yet!" She cried out.

Serena's face turned serious. "Why not?" She asked.

Rin pouted, "It's really simple…" Rin sighed, "I don't feel ready for that kind of relationship yet…" she sighed.

Serena hugged her from behind, "Hey, that's perfectly fine…" Serena said calmly, "Why don't you tell them that then when Yugo wins?" Serena said confidently.

"But what if he doesn't win! And even if he does, how do I say that!?" Rin exclaimed.

"You said that Yugo was dueling for your choice in the matter, right?" Serena pointed out, "Saying no to everybody is a choice, you know…" she said softly.

"But that's the problem…!" Rin sighed, "When I think of saying no, my chest hurts… I don't think I want to say no…." she said softly.

"Why?" Serena asked before seeing Rin's blushing face, and suddenly understanding.

"You… you like Yugo, don't you?" Serena said with a small smile.

Rin's face flushed, "S-Shut up, what if he hears?" She cried out.

Serena smiled knowingly, "So, you want to ask Yugo out… but you don't feel ready for a relationship…" Serena said calmly.

Rin sighed, "Yeah… yeah, that's it…" Rin sighed.

"Rin, look at me…" Serena said calmly.

Rin looked at her with wide eyes.

"I'm… not the best person to ask for dating advice," Serena admitted, "Boys usually run AWAY from me, and love is the last thing on my mind…" she continued.

"But here's the advice that I can give…" Serena continued, "Go with your gut or heart, I guess… if you want to be in a relationship with Yugo, I'm certain that he won't say no… but if your heart is screaming at you that you aren't ready, then…" Serena trailed off.

Rin looked at her, "That's easier said than done…" she said quietly.

"I'm sure it is, but in the end, Yugo is going to win, and you're going to have that choice…" She said as she patted the girl's back.

"You're not the best at this…" Rin frowned.

Serena grinned, "Sorry, I guess I'm all you've got, though!" She said teasingly.

Rin smiled lightly, "It did help, a little bit…" she admitted.

_{Bonus Scene!}_

"Guys! Check out what I've got!"

Everybody turned to face Yugo, who was now running along the beach with eight surfboards miraculously balanced on the top of his head.

"Yugo, how and why?" Yuto deadpanned.

"Do you mean how I'm balancing this? Because I have no clue," Yugo admitted, "But there was a surfboard-rental stand nearby, and if you look over that way, you'll see a large-wave section for surfers!" Yugo said as he bounced up and down like an excited child.

"And? You expect us to surf on these things without any prior knowledge?" Yuri asked, "You're an even bigger idiot than I thought, Fusion!" He taunted.

"My name is YUGO, not FUSION!" Yugo exclaimed, "And come on! It'll be fun! We'll watch a tutorial first!" He cried out.

Eventually, Yugo finally managed to convince them to say yes.

_Later…_

"This is a terrible idea…" Yuri said as he nervously held onto his purple board as they floated a good distance away from the shore.

"What, nervous?" Yugo taunted.

"N-No! Of course not! Who do you think I am!?" Yuri yelled indignantly.

"Yuri, your hands are trembling…" Serena pointed out.

"S-Shut up! They aren't! You're hallucinating!" Yuri said desperately while trying to hide his hands.

"Oh yeah… Yuri, you don't like being this far out in the ocean, do you?" Yuya asked.

"Wait, Yuri's afraid!?" Serena laughed.

"Shut up, bitch!" Yuri yelled.

"Oh, right… I forgot about Yuri's little fear of dying while floating in the ocean…" Yuto chuckled.

"I-It's a legitimate fear!" Yuri yelled, "Dying while stuck out at sea is genuinely terrifying!" He cried out.

Everyone tried to hide their snickers, except for Yuya.

"Don't worry, we're fine!" Yuya said cheerfully.

Yuri gulped, "Y-Yeah…" he stuttered.

"Man, I did not expect to see THIS side of Yuri today!" Serena cackled.

"Bitch, I will feed you to a Venus flytrap!" Yuri yelled.

Serena cackled, and Yuri seethed.

"Die in a hole…" Yuri growled.

"Heads up guys! It's a big one!" Ruri yelled.

Everyone turned and saw a massive wave coming their way.

"Crap, everybody paddle!" Yugo yelled.

"Oh shit, oh fuck, oh christ…" Yuri cursed as he started paddling towards the shore as fast as he could.

Then, the wave reached them.

Serena didn't go fast enough to catch the wave and fell off her board, Ruri went even slower and the wave passed her by.

Meanwhile, everybody else managed to somewhat catch the wave.

Yuto had made it, but as he started to get up and stand, he ended up losing his balance and fell off his board, completely wiping out.

"WOO-Oh SHI-" Yuto cursed as he hit the water.

Yuri had miraculously caught the wave, and his hands shook as he slowly started to stand up.

"Oh god, oh fuck, oh god why me…!" Yuri cursed rapidly as he flew towards the show.

Yugo had gotten up and balanced instantly. "WOO! WOOHOO!" He yelled, "I'm the king of the world! OH, SHIT!"

His last words were when he saw somebody in front of him and desperately tried to turn, only to fly off of his board and into the water.

But hey, at least the person was safe.

"A-AHH! TOO FAST! TOO FAST!" Rin screamed as she shot towards the shore, perfectly balanced, but also not in control.

Yuya and Yuzu didn't fare much better.

They did worse.

"Yuya! Turn the other way! You're too close!" Yuzu screamed as Yuya drew closer and closer to her.

"I can't control it! Brace for impact!" Yuya yelled as he continued to shoot towards the pinkette.

And with a loud crash, they collided and flew into the water below.

_Later…_

Everybody stood on the shore, each looking exhausted.

Except for Yuri, who had been the only successful surfer, and was now hugging the ground.

"Oh, sweet land… the land where plants grow… oh, I'm never going out there again…" Yuri sighed.

Oh, and Yuya and Yuzu were nowhere to be found.

"We… are never doing that again…" Yuto sighed.

"By the way, where's Yuzu, and Yuya for that matter?" Serena asked.

_Meanwhile…_

Yuzu clung to Yuya's back desperately as Yuya hung onto his board.

"D-Don't you dare look back here!" Yuzu hissed.

Yuya's face was bright red as a new sensation pressed against his back.

In the collision, Yuzu's bikini top had somehow come undone and was now floating _somewhere _nearby, though they had no clue where exactly.

The feeling of embarrassment was mutual.

"D-Did you find it yet…?" Yuya gulped as Yuzu continued to press her chest into his back for protection.

"N-No…" Yuzu sighed.

They were going to be there for a while.

**I swear to god, you don't realize how much you've written until you hit CTRL + SHIFT + C.**

**I thought I was far from done, but this is one of my longer chapters since I usually aim for a word-count of somewhere between 7000 and 10,000, but I went a little further with this chapter.**

**Probably because of the lack of action, but there's gonna be plenty of action soon.**


	16. Chapter 16: Go Even Faster!

**What I say I'm doing during the time between chapters: Working at making this thing work properly.**

**What I'm actually doing: Temporarily giving up because of writer's block and going on Duel Nexus to waste time.**

**This chapter was longer than I thought it would be.**

**Chapter 16: Go Even Faster!**

Yugo sat in the locker room, where he would wait until the match today started.

His brothers weren't there yet… he was only there because he was too nervous to be anywhere else right now.

"Yugo?"

Yugo turned his head as he heard a female voice.

"Rin?" Yugo questioned as a familiar girl entered the room.

"Wrong! It's me, Serena!" Serena declared angrily as she entered the room.

"S-Sorry!" Yugo exclaimed as Serena glared at him.

Serena sighed. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be here in two hours, and you're _never _early…" she questioned.

"Hey! I can be early if I want to!" Yugo said with a frown.

Serena raised an eyebrow.

"…What?" Yugo asked.

"You're nervous, aren't you?" Serena asked.

Yugo cringed. Of course, she managed to hit the nail on the head…

"N-No…" he lied.

Serena saw right through it. "Is it because of the little bet you made about Rin?" She asked.

"You know?" Yugo asked.

"Rin told me," Serena explained.

"Does anybody else know?" Yugo asked.

"Nope, just me…" Serena answered.

Yugo let out a large sigh as he leaned backward.

"Why are you so stressed? You were already planning to fight with everything you've got, so what's changed?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing…" Yugo explained, "Just the sudden realization of exactly what's at stake here…" he said sarcastically.

"That still doesn't explain the obvious look of disappointment on your face…" Serena stated.

Yugo stared at her. "_How can she read me so well?" _He questioned in his head.

Yugo sighed and pulled out a rulebook. "One of the rules in the tournament…" Yugo sighed, "If a duelist is allowed to use a D-Wheel IF it is constructed by themselves, AND authorized by at least five teachers…" he explained.

"Seriously? That's a rule?" Serena asked.

"Yup," Yugo stated, "Of course, it doesn't look like anybody's done it… probably because of just how HARD it is to construct one of the things by yourself without any prior experience…" he sighed.

"Wait… is that what you've been doing?" Serena asked.

In the past few days, Yugo had been slipping away from the group at strange times, and only be found again when the day was almost ending.

Yugo pulled out a gray disk from his pocket and tossed it on the ground in front of him.

When it hit the ground, it suddenly began to glow and shoot lights all over the place.

"W-What the!?" Serena yelled.

The light suddenly died down, and in its place, was-lo and behold… a D-Wheel.

Well, a shoddy one.

There was no paint, leaving it with a dull gray color. Machinery was sticking out in too many places for Serena to count. The metal that covered the machine wasn't anywhere close to symmetrical, and dents were prominent among the entire thing, showing evidence that the metal had been pounded repeatedly (and badly) into a shape that _just _managed to click in place.

Serena didn't need to know anything about D-Wheels to be able to tell that the thing was a pile of junk that was shoved together.

"The engine doesn't work, it's always leaning too far to the right, pieces fly off now and then…" Yugo explained as a large screw suddenly flew off of the machine with a loud "pop!"

"Did… did you build it?" Serena asked.

"Did I work on it? Yes," Yugo answered, "did I do a good job? Nope…" he sighed.

"How did you… even get the parts?" Serena asked.

"I've always wanted to build one of these things myself…" Yugo explained, "so I've constantly been saving up money and parts… and I finally thought I could at least throw together something decent…" he sighed.

"What about the disk thing?" Serena asked.

"Oh, that was simple… I told Mr. Fudo what I was trying to do…" Yugo said nonchalantly, "he gave me a D-Storage device and then wished me luck… too bad I failed…" Yugo groaned.

Yugo stood up and walked over to the machine, where he then pressed a button on it, which caused the thing to glow again as it slowly shrunk down into the disk that Yugo had thrown earlier.

"Needless to say… it didn't pass any of the inspections, _especially _not the safety ones…" Yugo sighed.

"But why? You're still strong without it…" Serena asked.

"It was a _precaution_," he said, "I _have _to win this… and having a D-Wheel is perfect for a duelist that uses Synchro… because then it becomes possible to use Accel Boost!" Yugo groaned.

Serena remembered the term from a class earlier in the year. Accel Boost is a technique for Synchro Monsters that can only be achieved by transforming while moving at incredibly fast speeds.

But it wasn't just something you could _do_. Even for pro duelists, the technique was ridiculously hard to pull off.

Though, Yugo probably either didn't care or didn't listen to that part.

"So? Who said you needed something like that if you wanted to defeat Yaiba?" Serena asked.

"Nobody… it's just that there's a lot of stuff at stake here…" Yugo sighed.

"You're right, there is…" Serena replied bluntly.

Yugo chuckled. "Wow, are you even trying to be comforting?" Yugo asked.

Serena grinned, "Nope, I shouldn't have to comfort somebody with nothing to worry about!" She said with a smile.

A bit of relief showed on his face at that statement, but it wasn't enough.

"What do you think Rin will say when she gets her choice?" Serena asked.

"How should I know?" Yugo replied, "If I'm being completely honest… dueling for her 'choice' wasn't because I was being chivalrous or anything…" he said with a frown.

"Then why did you?" Serena asked.

"Because… it was the only thing I could duel for…" Yugo sighed, "The first thing that came into my mind was to duel for her to pick me… but I could never force something like that on her… and it's not like she'd want me anyway…" he sighed.

"Why's that?" Serena asked.

"Why? Hah, you know why…" Yugo chuckled, "You guys have said it for yourselves, I'm a perv… as if Rin would wanna be with a guy who's constantly checking out every female they see…" he sighed.

"She deserves better…" he sighed.

Serena stared at the boy. "_So, Rin likes you, huh?" _She thought.

"Why? Are you saying that you'd be unfaithful if she chose you?" Serena asked.

Yugo's head snapped to Serena. "No! Of course not!" He shouted.

Serena smiled as the gears started to turn in Yugo's head.

"B-But… I mean… you would know since you're a girl… girls don't want a guy like me, right?" He asked.

"That's a pretty negative assumption to make about yourself," Serena replied.

"But it's true, right?" Yugo asked.

"Maybe for some people… but not everybody," Serena answered.

"What, are you telling me that you of all people like me?" Yugo said with a grin.

"Hah, in your dreams, Fusion!" Serena laughed back.

"Hey! It's Yugo, damn it!" Yugo yelled angrily, "Don't tell me that you're doing it too, now!" He cried out.

Wow, Yuri was right. Yugo's attitude DID change the second she called him Fusion instead of Yugo.

"Well, regardless, you're dueling for Rin's sake here," Serena said as she turned and began to walk towards the door. "So do your best, and try not to eat dirt like you did back in the preliminaries!" She said as she left.

"Hey! That hurts!" Yugo yelled as she left the room.

* * *

"Yuya, may I speak with you for a moment?"

Yuya turned around to see Kachidoki standing behind him.

Yuya's brothers were nowhere to be found since Yugo had up and vanished for some reason, Yuri had gone off to look for him, and Yuto was talking with Shun.

"Huh? Oh! Kachidoki!" Yuya exclaimed.

Kachidoki smiled, "You're fighting today, right?" He asked.

"Yup! Are you gonna cheer me on?" Yuya asked.

Kachidoki chuckled, "Of course, I want the person who managed to defeat me to win, after all!" He declared.

Kachidoki had seemed much more… happy, lately. When Yuya first met him on the battlefield, he was incredibly cold towards him.

"Say, remember that black dragon you used against me back in the preliminaries?" Kachidoki asked.

"Huh? Oh, you mean Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon?" Yuya replied, "Yeah, why?"

Kachidoki frowned. "Are you able to use him?" He asked.

Yuya sighed, "No, unfortunately, I can hardly keep him out for more than a second…" he explained.

Kachidoki nodded. "Hm, I figured as much…" he muttered.

"Huh?" Said Yuya.

"Yuya, after this match, tonight… meet me at training-room four, I have something to show you…" he whispered.

"H-Huh!?" Yuya exclaimed.

But suddenly, Kachidoki was gone.

"What was that about…" Yuya wondered.

* * *

"If I can use Mind Crush on Soul again… I might be able to reach his seal and undo it…" Syrup muttered, "but it might not work… and I still have no clue how Mind Crush is supposed to work…" she sighed.

Her plan so far was this:

Step 1: Use Mind Crush on Soul

Step 2: Assuming that you can reach the Seal through Sou's mind, try and find his seal.

Step 3: Break the seal

Step 4: Try and stop Soul from re-sealing

Also step 4: If Soul goes berserk from his power… stop him, somehow?

Step 5: Celebrate, I guess?

The plan was still in the making, and there were too many unknown variables…

She could probably assume that Soul would notice if she tried to break the seal and try to protect it… and she didn't even know if she could access the seal through his "mind"

He was sleeping right now, though… maybe she could go inside his mind and check without him noticing?

"Just in and out… and try not to wake him up…" Syrup repeated as she stood at the side of his bed and transformed into Apprentice Illusion Magician.

"Alright… Mind Crush!" Syrup declared.

Syrup opened her eyes nervously.

She was in her normal form again, and she was in a long and dark corridor.

At the end of the corridor, was a large door.

"I guess… it worked…" Syrup muttered.

She remembered her meeting with Atem a few days ago.

She might not know exactly how to use Mind Crush… but going into Soul's mind was exactly what she wanted.

Although… how would she get out?

The second she thought about how to get out, another door appeared behind her with the words "Exit" on it.

"Ah, I see…" Syrup mumbled as she walked past the door and towards the one at the end of the corridor.

There was nothing else there, so she assumed that this door must lead to his mind.

The door was heavy and hard to open, but with enough force, Syrup was able to pull the door open.

Inside was a large and dark bedroom.

There was a light-switch on the wall, but when Syrup flicked it up, nothing happened, and the room remained dark.

A window was on each wall, and black curtains were drawn over them, blocking out all light except for a few small rays that managed to get through.

There were hardly any decorations, and the bed was ridiculously messy.

But what caught Syrup's attention the most was sitting on a small desk in the corner of the room.

A cage.

It was a small, black cage with a dark-blue card floating inside it. Occasionally, the cage would suddenly shake and rattle, but it would quickly return to stillness afterward.

Syrup almost felt drawn to it… but she kept her distance.

Yellow hazard-tape was wrapped around the cage with words like Caution, Warning, and Danger on it.

But more prominently… the word SEAL was on it as well.

She slowly walked over to it, her eyes gazing at the cage in wonder.

"Is this… the seal?" She said out loud.

She heard a soft growl come from within the cage.

Well, that was easier than she had thought.

She was tempted to tamper with the thing right here and now… Soul wasn't here, after all.

But she held herself back.

What if Soul still couldn't control it, and went berserk? He'd blame himself, tell her something along the lines of "I told you this would happen!", and then seal it again.

No, she had to get rid of the seal while making sure that Soul wouldn't repair the seal.

Of course, this was easier said than done.

In the meantime, however, she quickly left the room, as well as Soul's mind.

Syrup woke up with a start, quickly looking at her surroundings.

She had fallen against the wall after using Mind Crush and entering Soul's mind and had unfortunately ended up in a rather uncomfortable position.

"Ow…!" Syrup grunted as she got to her feet.

Soul still snored away on the bed.

Suddenly, she saw the clock on the side of the bed.

"Soul! We're going to be late!" She suddenly screamed.

She had spent more time in Soul's head than she had thought… and at this rate, they would have to run to get to their seats for the tournament.

"H-Huh…?" Soul muttered as his eyes slowly opened.

Soul was suddenly yanked out of bed and pulled out the door.

Thank god he slept in his hoodie and pants…

* * *

"Yugo! There you are!" Yuri exclaimed.

"Hey! I guess I was early this time!" Yugo replied nonchalantly as Yuri entered the locker room.

"Yeah, too early, Fusion!" Yuri exclaimed, "We still have two hours before our match starts!" He scolded.

"My name is Yugo! Not Fusion!" Yugo exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, _Fusion_…" Yuri groaned. "Anyways, Rin wanted to talk to you for some reason, so get off your ass and stop being pathetic!" He said harshly.

"Fuck you too, Yuri!" Yugo said as he got up and walked past him.

Yugo ignored Yuri, who was holding both hands up with his middle fingers pointed to the roof.

"Rin wants to talk to me, huh…?" Yugo muttered.

* * *

"What. The. Actual. Hell…"

Yuzu was glaring daggers at a specific girl, who was seated right next to where Yuzu, her sisters, and their friends were going to be sitting.

Mieru Hochun… a tiny girl who seemed to be constantly professing her love towards Yuya.

How did they even meet!? Why does she like him!? And keep your hands off of him you little-

She quickly stopped the thoughts there and resorted to simply glaring at the girl.

She was… fine with the fact that Yuya had fans… yeah, she was perfectly fine.

So then WHY is she wearing THAT!?

Sora, who had been standing next to Yuzu, whistled suggestively.

Mieru was wearing a small orange cheerleader outfit with a skirt that was too short, and a top that exposed her midriff and belly. Yuzu was glad that in terms of chest size, she had nothing to speak of… because if she did, there would be MUCH too much cleavage being shown.

Oh, and let's not forget the orange pom-poms that were the size of her head, as well as the word "Yuya" written across the front of her top.

"Go! Go! Knock them dead, Darling!"

Yuzu felt a nearly-uncontrollable urge to walk over and start a fight with the girl.

"Wow, Yuzu! I can practically feel the hostility coming off of you, and it's not even directed at me!" Sora said nonchalantly.

"Ah! I've heard of this before!" Ruri exclaimed as she walked up to them, "Is this what a 'jealous tsundere' looks like?" She asked.

"I'm not a tsundere!" Yuzu exclaimed.

Sora stared at her.

"I'm not!" She exclaimed again.

"What she's doing looks fun, though!" Ruri said as she watched Mieru, "Maybe we should dress up like that!"

Both Sora and Yuzu took a double-take.

"NO!" Yuzu screamed.

"YES!" Sora yelled, earning him a smack in the back of the head with Yuzu's paper fan.

* * *

Yugo found Rin waiting outside the locker room. "Hey, you wanted to talk to me?" Said Yugo.

Rin fidgeted in place. "Hey, um… well… are you doing okay?" Rin asked.

"Well, I'm super nervous, but I'm fine! Why?" Yugo asked.

"Listen, I just… I wanted to thank you for doing this for me… but you don't have to…" Rin said sheepishly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Yugo said in confusion, "Wait… do you actually wanna date that Yaiba guy!?" He exclaimed.

"N-No! It's not that!" Rin defended herself, "I just… you don't have to fight on my behalf, you know…" she mumbled.

"Well, yeah… you're definitely strong enough to fend for yourself…" Yugo muttered, "but still… that guy needs some sense knocked into him, anyway!" He said with a grin.

"_Besides… if I'm being honest… I just don't wanna see you with anybody else… which, now that I think about it… is pretty selfish of me…" _Yugo thought.

"Well… if you're going through with it… I thought I'd wish you luck…" she said as she took a plastic bag out from behind her.

"Hm?" Yugo raised an eyebrow as she held the bag out in front of her.

"I… I couldn't help you with whatever it was you were planning… but I thought I could at least help like this…" she said with a small smile.

Yugo peered inside the bag, and his eyes widened. "Rin is this…?" Yugo gasped.

Inside the bag was what looked and felt like a high-quality riding suit, consisting mostly of white and gray, along with a red and blue on the chest, and a gold-yellow here and there as well.

Heck, it was even outfitted with the protective pads along with his knees and elbows like a real riding suit.

"Rin, where did you get this!?" Yugo exclaimed.

"D-Do you not like it…?" Rin asked.

"Like it?" Yugo muttered, "I LOVE IT! It's perfect!" He exclaimed.

Rin let out a sigh of relief. "_Good… he likes it…" _she thought.

"It's so soft as well! Seriously, where did you get this?" He asked.

"I made it myself…" Rin said as she twirled one of the locks in her hair.

"Huh? Seriously?" Yugo questioned, "You're serious? Something as incredible as this?" Yugo asked.

Rin puffed her cheeks. "What, surprised that I'm good at stuff like this?" She asked, "I just practiced knitting and crafts in my spare time when I was young, and I guess I had a natural talent for it…" she explained.

Yugo stared at her with disbelief. "But… this can't have been easy to make…" Yugo muttered.

"It wasn't… but it was something I wanted to do…" Rin said as her cheeks reddened a bit, "I wanted to give you something that you would treasure, and you always talk about how much you wanted your own D-Wheel…" she explained.

"Rin…" Yugo said as he held the outfit.

"Well… there's no way I can make a D-Wheel by myself… but I saw some of the doodles you make on your homework, and I saw your design for a riding suit…" she explained.

"Wait, you designed this… off of my crappy drawings!?" Yugo exclaimed.

"Well, I had to tweak it here and there… but yeah!" She beamed.

Yugo suddenly threw his arms around her in a hug. "I love it! Thank you, Rin!" Yugo exclaimed.

Rin's face was bright red. "A-Ah! Y-Yeah!" She stuttered.

Yugo jumped away from her, a giddy look on his face.

"Hold on! I'll go and change into it right now!" Yugo said as he dashed into the locker room.

_A few minutes later…_

Yugo ran out of the locker room, wearing his new suit.

"Rin, it even fits perfectly!" He exclaimed.

"Well, yeah! I managed to get your measurements thanks to Serena, though I have no clue how she managed it…" Rin explained.

Serena, who was listening from nearby, remained silent.

_A few nights before this…_

"You remember our deal, right?" Yuri asked.

"Yes, I remember my deal…" Serena groaned.

"Really?" Yuri said with a grin, "You remember that I have the right to make you do one thing, no matter what it is, without question?" He asked.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Yes, I remember… and you need to remember that I'm only doing this for Rin!" She hissed.

Yuri stood with his hands lifted at his sides, completely shirtless.

Serena was holding some measuring tape, a pen, and a notebook.

Luckily for Serena, all of the boys had pretty much the same measurements. There was no way Serena was staring at Yugo without a shirt on, Yuto would NEVER agree to this, and Yuzu would kill her if she dared to feel up Yuya, even if it was for innocent reasons.

That only left Yuri… and his demands.

Serena shuddered at the thought of what Yuri would make her do after this… but she was a woman of her word, and she would do her best to bear it with dignity.

After an excruciatingly long session of Serena obtaining Yuri's, and by extension, Yugo's measurements. Yuri was finally allowed to put his shirt back on.

"Well… what do you want me to do in return…" Serena sighed.

"Hm… I'm not sure yet… I think I'll save it for now and cash it in later, okay?" Yuri teased.

"You're an asshole…" Serena growled.

"Why, I'm flattered…" Yuri said with a pompous grin on his pompous face.

_Back to the present…_

Serena hoped to god that she wouldn't forever regret her decision.

"Listen, I just have a favor to ask of you…" Rin said softly.

"Hm?" Yugo tilted his head.

Suddenly, Rin ran forward.

Yugo felt a strange, soft, and slightly moist sensation on his cheek.

Rin's face was shockingly close to his face.

_Meanwhile, Yugo's last three working brain cells:_

**1\. Right, I think that's our queue to leave!**

**2\. See you all, never!**

**3\. I never liked this job anyways…**

Yugo's eyes widened as Rin stepped backward, moving slightly away from him.

His hand brushed lightly against his cheek as he stared at her.

Her face was bright red, and she was averting his gaze.

"Think… think of me when you wear it…" she said embarrassingly.

"Huh…?" Yugo muttered, "Y-Yeah, of course, I will…" Yugo muttered.

Rin nodded before suddenly running off, holding her cheeks with her hands and squealing.

Yugo felt the soft fabric of his suit's gloves brush against the small bit of saliva that remained on his cheek.

"Haaaa…" Yugo gasped, "Did… did I just get a kiss…?" He gasped.

* * *

Everyone was now seated in the audience, and it was… more rambunctious than usual.

Soul was, as usual, sleeping. Syrup looked exhausted (apparently she had sprinted here while carrying Soul from the hotel), Yuzu was glaring daggers at Mieru, who was still wearing a cheerleader outfit and cheering optimistically.

Rin's face was bright red for some reason, Serena was crumpling up a picture of Yuri, and Ruri was wondering out loud if it would be a good idea to dress up as a cheerleader.

"Go! Go! Darling!" Mieru chanted.

"He's not even out yet! Stop being so loud!" Yuzu suddenly yelled.

"Ah! I remember you!" Mieru exclaimed, "You're that girl who's constantly with my darling! Stay away, love rival!" She declared.

"L-Love rival!?" Yuzu yelled in surprise.

"Ah, here we go again…" Serena sighed as an argument broke out between Yuzu and Mieru.

* * *

"Hey, where did you get that suit, Yugo?" Yuya asked as he stretched inside the locker room.

"Oh, well um… Rin gave it to me…" Yugo said quietly.

"You three heads up, we're heading out soon!" Yuto shouted.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, brother…" Yuri groaned.

"Hey… guys, one of the people on the other team is a Synchro Monster user…" Yugo suddenly spoke up, "I'd like you guys to leave him to me, okay?" He asked.

"Why?" Yuya asked.

"It's for a personal reason, okay?" Yugo said hotly, "Listen, just… I have to face him by myself, okay?" He said as he rubbed the back of his head.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Fine, but if you have too much trouble, we're gonna drop in and help out, okay?" Yuto sighed.

"Just call for Yuya, since he'll be staying behind and defending the crystal while we take the spotlight this time!" Yuri laughed.

Yuya pouted, "But I wanna make the crowd smile!" Yuya complained.

"Just do a comedy routine or something while we're fighting…" Yuto sighed, "Now come on, let's get out there…"

* * *

"Sora, how much sugar can you possibly stuff in your pockets…?" Serena asked with slight disbelief.

Sora smirked as he stuck his hands in his pockets and pulled out:

Four chocolate bars.

Two different bags of gummies.

Five lollipops.

Ten Mini-Reeses.

Three packs of bubble-gum.

Seven Jawbreakers.

And finally… a single plastic bag filled to the brim with different varieties of chocolates.

"How… why… _how!?" _Serena said as her eyes widened at the unnecessarily-large supply of candy.

"Why? Well, why not?" Sora replied, "As for how… well, I have to keep _some _secrets…" he said with a mischievous grin.

Serena had a feeling that nobody would ever figure out how Sora could manage to fit a pantry-sized hoard of candy on his person at all times.

"Hey, look! It's starting!" Syrup suddenly exclaimed.

Everybody's eyes turned towards the arena, where the four boys were now walking into.

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" Yuya asked Yugo.

"As much as I appreciate it… no, this is something I have to do myself…" he said with a determined look on his face.

"Why is this so important to you?" Yuya questioned.

"Well… let's just say that it's personal, okay?" Yugo said quickly.

"Hm… okay then," Yuya said as he gave Yugo a pat on the back, "Good luck, 'kay?" Yuya said with a comforting smile.

There was something about Yuya that always seemed to calm Yugo's nerves. "Yeah, don't you worry about it!" He declared, "Big-Bro Yugo will be sure to bring home a win!" He said confidently.

"Know your place, second-youngest!" Yuri said with a hard slap to Yugo's back.

"Ow! Hey, watch it!" Yugo yelled as Yuri cackled.

"Hey, quit messing around and focus already!" Yuto scolded.

"Aw, is Mama-Yuto trying to scold us?" Yuri taunted.

"Know your place, third-youngest…" Yuto took Yuri's words and shot them back at Yuri at full force.

"Don't let your ego get the best of you, Mr. Oldest-Child!" Yuri shot back.

"I could say the same to you, Grapehead!" Yuto shot back with a look of annoyance.

"Keep talking, Eggplant!" Yuri shot back.

"Grape… eggplant…?" Yuya questioned.

"Yuya… it's no secret that our hair makes our heads look like food…" Yugo sighed.

**Yuya: Tomato**

**Yuto: Eggplant**

**Yugo: Banana + Spiky-Blueberry**

**Yuri: Grape**

The crowd watched in silence as Yuya and Yugo ignored Yuto and Yuri, who were now rolling around on the ground, grappling for each other's throats.

"We don't know them… we don't know them… we don't know them…" Serena repeated.

Yuzu, meanwhile, was holding her paper-fan menacingly.

The boys finally stopped fighting when the opposing team came out.

Yuto quickly got to his feet and brushed off the front of his shirt, while Yuri scoffed with a look of annoyance.

Masumi, Hokuto, and Yaiba.

Fusion, Xyz, and Synchro users respectively.

"Yuya, we're gonna be fighting each of them individually… if you see a chance to attack the crystal, take it, okay?" Yuto said calmly.

"Got it!" Yuya said firmly.

Yugo cracked his knuckles and glared at Yaiba, who returned his glare with a cocky grin.

A screen appeared in front of the opposing screen (It was to be expected, after all… it was three versus four, after all).

Yugo tapped his foot impatiently. "Come on, damn it… pick a damn stage… I'll kick your ass no matter what…" he growled.

The screen vanished, and the floor began to glow from underneath them.

"W-Whoa…!" Yuya exclaimed as the section of floor that they had been standing on began to rise into the sky.

They now found themselves standing on what seemed to be… solid clouds?

**Action Field: Heavens Battlefield**

The field consisted of many different floating, cloud-like islands.

Yugo grinned, "Heh, this is perfect for aerial monsters… we've got this in the bag!" Yugo declared.

"I wonder what would happen if you were to fall off…" Yuri muttered.

Two large islands floated at each end of the stadium, where each team stood with their crystal.

"Okay, stay here, Yuya…" Yuto said as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Let your big brothers handle this one…" he said as his gaze turned cold and serious.

They paid no attention to the enthusiastic commentary and waited for a single word that would signal the start of the battle.

…

…

…

**DUEL!**

In a flash of white light, Yugo was the first one to take off at full speed, nearly blowing away his brothers in the process.

A flash of white light shone on the other side of the arena, and Yaiba took off similarly.

"Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Yugo yelled as he transformed into the white dragon and flew forward at full speed.

"XX-Saber Gottoms!" Yaiba declared as he changed into a large warrior clad in white armor, wielding a large blade with blue energy running along with it.

With a loud crash, they met in the middle of the stadium and clashed, Clear Wing's head against Gottoms' blade.

* * *

Meanwhile, just as the match started…

"I'm gonna do it!"

"Yuma, you're going to kill yourself…"

"I'M GONNA DO IT!"

"Please, no…"

Nobody knew why, but for some reason, a large pyramid of plastic cans had been stacked in the middle of the VIP spectator room.

Nobody knew why it was there… because it was there when they arrived.

But when Yuma entered the room, he had an idea that was doomed for failure.

"I, Yuma Tsukumo, am going to run, jump, and clear this entire thing without touching it!" He declared.

The pyramid was about ten feet tall.

"Yuma, the world-record for the highest vertical-jump is about eight feet…" Yusei said calmly, "Are you saying that you can somehow beat that record by more than two full feet?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Kattobingu" Yuma said (as though it was supposed to mean something).

"Yuma, what the hell does that even mean!?" Judai cried out as he held his head in mild-panic.

"Godspeed, Mr. Tsukumo!" A man dressed in white, Jack Atlas, suddenly yelled dramatically.

"Jack, stop encouraging him…" Yusei sighed.

Kaiba scoffed and quickly moved to the other side of the room.

"Astral! Give me a quick number-crunch!" Yuma declared.

The blue ghost appeared hovering next to Yuma.

"_I calculate that the chances of you managing to clear this, with human strength alone, are about… 0.0000000000001%"_ Astral said calmly.

"I LIKE THOSE ODDS!" Yuma declared.

A blue-haired male suddenly entered the room. "Alright, who's screaming at the top of their lungs…" he growled.

"Ryoga, please stop your friend…" Judai sighed.

"We ain't friends… and stop Yuma from doing what?" Ryoga asked.

Suddenly, he saw the enormous tower of cans.

He put two and two together, and everything suddenly clicked into place.

"Yeah, that's a hard pass…" Ryoga said as he quickly turned to leave the room.

"KATTOBINGUUUUUUU!"

Everything seemed to move in slow motion from that point onwards.

Yusei remained with his usual poker-face as he stared at Yuma.

Judai's eyes widened, and his jaw began to drop.

Ryoga started to switch from a casual walk to a desperate sprint for the door.

Jack was standing up, his fist waving in the air as he cheered, though a smile was nowhere to be seen on his face.

Kaiba had his hand pressed against his forehead.

And finally, Yuma was making a ridiculously high leap as he reached the tower thanks to a full-power sprint.

For a second, it looked like he was gonna do it…

**CRASH!**

Nevermind.

Yuma ended up diving straight into the center of the pyramid, and cans flew _everywhere._

A fair amount collided with Yusei's face, but his expression never changed.

Judai fell backward as a wave of cans flew into him, smacking him to the ground.

Ryoga didn't escape in time and was knocked to the ground by a can that flew into the back of his head at high speed.

Jack, who had his mouth open in a loud cheer, fell backward as a can flew perfectly into his open mouth.

Kaiba, meanwhile, simply scoffed as a single can hit the ground and rolled over to his foot.

And then another can flew into his head.

Yuma groaned as he laid among the pile of cans, and his expression quickly changed to fear as Kaiba now towered over him.

Nobody saw Yuma again for the rest of the day.

* * *

"Rebellious Lightning Strike! Disobey!"

"Come! Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7!"

Yuto charged at Hokuto, covered in purple electricity. A yellow barrier formed around Hokuto as he transformed into a large mechanical dragon.

Electricity sparked in every direction as Yuto attempted to pierce the barrier with the fang on his chin, only to be blown away in response.

"Come! Gem-Knight Lady Dia!"

"Devour everything! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!"

Yuri's wings were opened at full size, and countless beams of green energy were being fired at Masumi, who was countering each beam with a purple beam of light of her own.

The battle was everywhere, and despite Yuya's best efforts, there were hardly any openings for him to take advantage of because of his brothers fighting evenly with their opponents.

But the real problem wasn't Yuto and Yuri's fight… it was Yugo's.

"Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" Yugo yelled as he charged at Yaiba.

The two synchro duelists were clashing everywhere around the stage. Yaiba was incredibly fast and could keep jumping from island to island, avoiding Yugo's attacks. Yugo, on the other hand, had nearly complete control over the sky and was chasing Yaiba endlessly.

"Quit running!" Yugo yelled angrily, "Dichroic Mirror!" He declared.

Clear Wing's wings glowed as Yugo roared, sending a powerful beam of light at Yaiba.

Yaiba held his sword up defensively and blocked against the stream of energy, quickly using his blade to push himself out of the way, before charging and jumping at Yugo.

"Take this!" Yaiba declared as he swung his blade down on Yugo, who raised a large claw to counter.

Both struck the other, and they both started grappled with each other in a struggle as they collided with an island below them.

"Crap, get back in the air…!" Yugo grunted as he quickly righted himself.

Before he could react, however, Yaiba charged at him and struck Yugo, sending him into a wall nearby.

"Now that you're on the ground, you won't escape!" Yaiba yelled as he raised his blade, "Double-X Break!" He yelled.

"Agh!" Yugo cried out as Yaiba swung a glowing blade down on him, which somehow struck Yugo twice despite only being swung once.

Yugo collided with the wall behind him and flew through it with a loud crash, debris flying everywhere.

"Not done! I said I wouldn't let you escape, didn't I!?" Yaiba declared as he leaped off the island after him.

"Crap…!" Yugo grunted as green energy formed in his maw, "Take this!" He yelled.

Clear Wing roared and fired a stream of green energy from his mouth, like a breath attack, while Yaiba raised his glowing blade and swung down.

"Double-X Break!" Yaiba yelled.

His blade cleaved straight through the middle of Yugo's breath attack and struck Yugo, hitting him again with the two-hitting attack.

"Gah!" Yugo yelled as he flew through the air.

"_Crap… I'm moving to his momentum…!" _Yugo thought frantically as he tried to balance himself. His body ached like crazy because of the attacks he had just taken.

And it wasn't over yet.

"This duel is mine!" Yaiba yelled as he started to fly at Yugo, thrusting his blade forward at Yugo's chest.

"**Dichroic Flash!" **Yugo yelled as his wings glowed even brighter, sending streams of energy in every direction.

"It's not enough!" Yaiba yelled as he thrusted his blade forward, cutting through the energy and striking Yugo square in the chest.

Yugo gasped as he felt pain shooting through his body.

During the shock, Yaiba had moved behind him and was raising his sword once more.

"Crap, at least land a hit to throw him off…!" Yugo grunted as he twisted his body midair.

"Double-X Break!"

"Screw off!"

Yugo swung his tail around and struck Yaiba square in the face, while Yaiba swung his blade down on Yugo.

The result was Yaiba being blown backward into an island above them, and Yugo flying down and crashing into the lowest island in the arena.

"Gah…!" Yugo gasped.

Yugo couldn't breathe. Had the impact knocked the wind out of him?

"Heh, you got me there… but it's over now…" Yaiba grinned.

Yugo managed to make out Yaiba jumping off of his island and falling towards him, ready to deliver the finishing blow.

"_Crap… I can't breathe…!" _Yugo thought as everything seemed to go in slow-motion. "_Damn it… I messed up…!" _He mentally cursed.

He had been nervous, frustrated, and all in all… not thinking properly either.

He had spent the entirety of the first part of his fight just chasing Yaiba and not landing any hits… he should have switched to a long-range strategy the second Yaiba started keeping his distance.

But no, he just kept chasing him with Helldive Slasher. This inevitably became predictable, and when he finally DID switch to long-range, he did it sloppily and ended up getting hit by Yaiba, which then resulted in getting hit even more.

Moving wasn't an option… he didn't have any air in his lungs, and his lungs weren't taking any air in.

Rin flashed through his mind momentarily.

"_Shit… sorry, Rin… I guess I do suck…"_ he cursed mentally.

"YUGO!"

Yugo gasped as a flash of red blurred his vision, and Yaiba was gone.

At this moment, his body finally started to work properly again, and the air was finally entering Yugo's lungs.

He gasped as his transformation dissipated, and he quickly looked around.

"What happened…!?" Yugo gasped.

He finally saw Yaiba, who was now fighting with Yuya (transformed into Odd-Eyes), who had jumped down and left the crystal to be protected by Timegazer and Stargazer.

"Yu… ya?" Yugo muttered.

"Spiral Strike Burst!" Yuya yelled as he shot a stream of spiraling flames at Yaiba, who dodged to the side and ran at him.

"Get outta the way! This is between me and Yugo!" He yelled.

Yuya jumped backward and continued to breathe fire at Yaiba, who ducked and swerved around the attack as he got closer and closer.

"He's fast…!" Yuya grunted, "In that case…"

Yaiba reached Yuya and raised his blade, "Go away!" He yelled.

Yuya stopped his stream of fire and turned his head towards the brunt of Yaiba's blade.

And in a split-second, Yuya opened his mouth and clamped down on Yaiba's blade.

"W-What…!" Yaiba exclaimed.

Yuya grunted as he held onto the tough blade as tightly as he could.

They each stood firm on the ground. Yaiba pulled and tugged at his weapon to try and remove it from Yuya's grip, while Yuya continued to bite down on the blade and held onto it tight.

"_Spiral… Strike Burst…!" _Yuya thought as fire began to form in his maw.

"Crap…!" Yaiba exclaimed.

Yuya's eyes gleamed as he let loose another stream of fire.

An explosion erupted between them, and Yaiba was blown backward while his blade landed next to him, which had broken into two pieces where Yuya had bitten down.

Yuya, meanwhile, skidded against the ground as the recoil sent him to Yugo's side.

Yugo stared at him in amazement. "_He… he stopped the attack… by biting the sword…?" _Yugo thought.

The attack had damaged Yuya as well due to the reckless attack, but he had done more damage to Yaiba then he did to himself.

"_That's so reckless though… but even still, he's moving forward even faster than me and everybody else…" _he thought as Yuya stood firm, smoke trailing out of the corner of his jaw.

"_Am… am I that weak…?" _Yugo thought.

_A long time ago…_

"Ah! Yuya! What happened to you!?" Young-Yugo exclaimed.

"_This… this is when we were kids…" _Yugo thought as the memory flashed through his mind.

Yuya's entire front was covered in mud, scratches covered his face, and his right eye looked like it was beginning to swell and turn purple.

Even still, he had a smile on his face.

Didn't his injuries hurt? How could he possibly smile?

"Oh, I just tripped and fell while I was playing with the other kids!" Young-Yuya said cheerfully.

Yugo knew Yuya well enough to know that Yuya's words roughly translated to: A bunch of older kids came up to me while I was leaving school and pushed me into some mud, made fun of me, then beat me up.

"Who did it! I swear I'll kick their asses!" Young-Yugo yelled angrily as he shook Young-Yuya back and forth from his shoulders.

Yugo mentally cringed. Had he always been vulgar with his words when he was a kid?

"What are you talking about? We were just having some fun!" Young-Yuya said with his ever-present smile.

"Exactly how were you having fun!?" Young-Yugo exclaimed.

"I just tripped in some mud, and it was funny, so the other kids laughed… it was fun…" Young-Yuya said quietly.

Okay, now it's getting even easier to see that Young-Yuya was lying.

"Yuya, it's not good when kids laugh at you for something like that!" Young-Yugo exclaimed.

"Why?" Young-Yuya asked, "It made them smile, it made them happy… isn't that a good thing…?" The youngest brother asked.

Another memory, though in words this time, flashed through his mind.

_You have an incredible smile… I'm sure that wherever you go, you'll be able to make people happy…_

"Yuya…" Young-Yugo said quietly.

He had brought Yuya home that day to his brothers, who reacted the same way that Yugo did. When their dad got home, he gave them a sad look before quickly taking out the first-aid kit from a drawer nearby and began to clean and apply medicine and band-aids to Yuya's injuries.

After that… Yuya's brothers refused to leave Yuya's side.

They would walk to school with him while glued to his sides, escort him to class, sit next to him during lunch, and walked alongside him on the way back home.

Occasionally, the bullies would follow them and ambush them on the way home. It would be a choice they would live to regret every time.

Four older boys would walk up to them, start talking shit, and immediately get attacked by Yuya's brothers.

All four of the brothers ended up with larger bruises and injuries than what the bullies had gotten, but they still made sure to inflict as much pain as possible.

Yugo would aim for the crotch and deliver a crushing kick.

Yuri would latch onto one of them and mercilessly try to scratch his face.

Yuto would just straight-up aim for anything vital (thank the internet for providing a young child the information on how to hit somebody bigger than you).

Unfortunately, as the fight only started after the bullies started calling them names, which at that point, caused Yuri to attack first. Because of this, all four brothers got suspended for a week, while the bullies had their parents called.

"Hah! I'll take a suspension! They deserved it!" Yuri said proudly as he sat in the nurse's office with his brothers, tissues being stuffed into his bleeding nose.

"Dad would understand, right?" Yuto asked as a large bandage was wrapped around his forehead, where he had obtained a large cut, and scalp-wounds like that bleed quite a lot, even if not serious.

"I'm sure he will! He's a duelist! It's his job to beat up bad people!" Yugo said as the nurse took out a cotton swab and started dabbing his left eye (which was completely purple and swollen to the point where Yugo couldn't open his eye) with a type of medicine that stung like mad when applied to Yugo's wounds.

Contrary to what they thought, their father wasn't exactly "proud"

They each turned completely silent as Yusho Sakaki looked at them with a serious gaze, each of them piling into the car in complete silence.

"So, what happened?" Yusho asked calmly.

Immediately, three different voices started drowning each other out.

"_ThebullieswhoattackedYuyatriedtohurthimagainsowewalkedwithhimandwhentheyattackedwekickedtheirasses…"_

"_WewereprotectingYuyaandthenthesebulliesshowedupandtheyinsultedussoIwentfortheeyesbecauseiftheylosetheireyesitwillsuckevenmoreforthem…"_

"_WewereplanningtoonlyfightbackiftheythrewthefirstpunchbutthenYuriattackedfirstandtheentirethinggotworsefromtheresowejustwentwithit…"_

Yuya remained silent the entire time, using his goggles to cover his eyes.

"Everyone, everyone!" Yusho exclaimed, promptly quieting the boys.

Yusho sighed. "What am I going to do with you all…" he sighed.

Yugo looked up sheepishly, "Are… are you mad at us…?" Yugo asked.

Yusho looked back at them and sighed.

"Yes, I am…" he admitted.

"But they deserved it!" Yuri said angrily.

"That doesn't matter… I'm not angry at you for protecting Yuya… I'm not even mad at all…" Yusho corrected himself, "I'm disappointed…" he sighed.

Everyone was silent.

"Violence should never be the first and only solution, especially when it comes to bullies…" Yusho explained, "Hatred only breeds more hatred, and by reacting this way, nothing has been solved…" he sighed.

Well, he wasn't wrong.

"I don't wanna hear about something like this again, do you hear me?" Yusho said sternly.

"Yes…" the boys said quietly.

"I'm sorry…" Yuya said softly.

"Don't apologize, I know you didn't do anything wrong, Yuya…" Yusho said softly.

Despite the injuries on Yuya, he had never fought back and had simply gotten injured in the crossfire.

Yuya still looked sad, however.

Yusho sighed and gave in.

"Hey, get your chin up," Yusho said with a kind smile, "Here, we'll stop and get some fast food on the way home…" he said.

For children at their age, fast-food was a godsend.

Yugo and his brothers instantly lit up, and Yuya nodded his head and removed his goggles, allowing a small puddle of tears to drop down onto his pants.

"Not for you three, you're being punished…" Yusho said sternly.

"Aw, what!?"

"Not fair!"

"Nooooo…"

Yusho laughed, "Oh, fine… I'll let you off the hook this time, but I better not hear about anything like this ever again, do you hear?" He said with a grin.

"Yes, dad!" Yuto said seriously.

"We promise!" Yugo said enthusiastically.

"Yeah yeah, less talking, more driving!" Yuri said loudly.

Yuya chuckled slightly, and Yugo remembered seeing Yusho smile.

Ever since then, Yuya's brothers continued to be at Yuya's side, protecting him.

Though, they refrained from getting into the elementary-school equivalent of a bloodbath anymore.

Occasionally the bullying would get more… physical. But even then, they shrugged it off and kept walking.

Eventually, the bullies got bored with them and left them alone. Though, they never did get any new friends in school due to their closely-knit, brotherly group… and Yuri's naturally-hostile reactions to new people.

But that entire time… it was always Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri being the strong big brothers that Yuya could rely on, no matter what.

So… when did that change…?

_Back to the present…_

In the preliminaries, Yuya was the reason they had won. Yugo and everybody else basically just got knocked around the whole time.

And even after doing their best to get stronger after that… Yuya still ended up being the most reliable of the four.

It wasn't that Yugo was upset about this… it's great that Yuya has gotten more and more confident… as well as strong enough to defend himself.

But he was the older brother… he shouldn't be relying on his little brother, especially for something like this.

This was his fight… it was for Rin.

It wouldn't mean anything if it wasn't Yugo who defeated him.

"Spiral Flame Strike!" Yuya started to yell.

"Wait!" Yugo yelled.

_I'm injured… I don't have enough strength to defeat him…_

"Huh? What?" Yuya quickly stopped his attack and looked back at Yugo.

_I need strength… I need to win… I need to do this, for Rin…!_

"Yuya… go back to the crystal…" Yugo said firmly, "I can handle this…"

**Channel your rage…**

Yugo's chest felt hot, and suddenly a wave of negative thoughts was flooding his mind.

_What if I still lose…?_

_Damn that guy… I won't let him take Rin…_

_Rin's watching, right? I bet I look pathetic…_

_God, this pisses me off…!_

Yuya stared right into Yugo's eyes.

"Alright, you can do this, okay?" Yuya gave in and ran off, jumping and flying towards the crystal he was supposed to defend.

**Unleash…**

Yuya landed in front of the crystal and shifted back to normal, before suddenly clutching his chest.

"W-What the…?" Yuya gasped.

Similar sensations shot through Yuto and Yuri as well.

"My chest…!" Yuto gasped.

"It's… hot…!" Yuri wheezed.

**Jealousy can be a form of rage… use it…!**

Yaiba got to his feet and picked up the remains of his blade. "Tch, I'll admit it, you got me there…" he grunted as he stuck the pieces back together, which caused the whole thing to start glowing and repair itself.

"_What… what's happening…?" _Yugo thought as the heat in his chest grew.

**You are jealous, correct? You watch him flirting and hitting on the girl you like, it is only natural to be jealous…**

A deep voice was booming in his head, and it wasn't a voice Yugo was familiar with.

**Use those feelings… let them give you strength…**

"Clear Wing… Synchro Dragon…" Yugo muttered as he crushed the white card in his hand.

A flash of white and the dragon now floated menacingly above the ground, growling deeply.

Yaiba instinctively took a step back.

"_What the hell… I can't explain it, but this guy seems different…" _Yaiba thought as he readied his blade.

Yugo suddenly roared, and at the same time, Yuto and Yuri did the same.

"What… is this feeling…?" Yuya gasped as he held his chest.

Each dragon's eyes were glowing as they roared, and it caused Yaiba, Hokuto, and Masumi to each step backward.

Suddenly, Clear Wing was right behind Yaiba.

"_What the!?" _Yaiba mentally panicked, "_He wasn't this fast before-"_

Yaiba was suddenly slammed into the ground, his head ruthlessly grabbed by Clear Wing and driven into the ground.

"Gah…!" Yaiba gasped.

He quickly recovered and swung his blade behind him to strike Yugo.

The sound of something shattering was heard, and Yaiba's eyes widened in disbelief.

He had indeed managed to hit Yugo, but the second he did, the blade shattered into pieces like glass.

"But that's…!" Yaiba tried to speak.

Suddenly, he was dragged through the ground before bursting out through the island, only to be thrown into another one floating nearby.

"Agh…!" Yaiba groaned, "What the hell… he wasn't nearly this durable, fast, and strong a moment ago…!" He groaned.

He didn't get to think on it for too long, as Clear Wing was suddenly flying at him, using Whirlwind Helldive Slasher.

With a roar, Clear Wing crashed into Yaiba and blew straight through the island, sending Yaiba flying into another one, where he landed with a loud thud.

Meanwhile, similar things were happening with Yuto and Yuri.

Dark Rebellion roared as it charged forward, electricity crackling around it and its fang.

Hokuto put up another barrier for protection, but in a single instant, Dark Rebellion's fang pierced through the barrier and continued straight for Hokuto.

And while that was happening, Starving Venom had sent purple vines of energy at Masumi, who had attempted to slash the vines away, only for the vines to instantly regenerate and restrain her as Starving Venom charged up a multitude of green beams of light.

With a synchronized roar, Yuto struck Hokuto and charged both of them onto an island. Yuri, meanwhile, let loose the countless dangerous beams, striking Masumi and blasting her high into the sky.

"My defenses… no way…!" Hokuto coughed.

"AGH!" Masumi yelled as she crashed into the invisible barrier that surrounded the arena and kept duelists from getting close to the spectators.

Yuya's eyes widened as he watched his brother's attacks increase in speed, power, and ferocity.

"**Treason Discharge!"**

"**Ability Devour!"**

"**Dichroic Mirror!"**

With each of these yells, each respective dragon unleashed the attack.

Purple Electricity shot towards Hokuto and bound him. Yuri's wings extended and shot towards Masumi, biting down on her monster's body and draining her abilities. And finally, Yugo's wings glowed bright green as he fired a large stream of white light at Yaiba, mercilessly blasting him.

"Hey…" Yuya said as he held his chest, "Hold on, isn't that a bit much…?" He gasped.

Suddenly, all three dragons roared into the sky as they began to glow.

All three roars seemed to resonate with each other, and the pain in Yuya's chest increased.

He felt a roar echo from within him. "O-Odd-Eyes…!?" Yuya gasped as he suddenly felt the urge to transform, but resisted it nonetheless.

Their friends watched similarly (except for Soul, who had opened one eye to observe).

"Hey, were they always this strong…?" Serena asked.

"Don't ask me…" Soul replied coldly.

Sora looked almost excited. "Woah… this is incredible…" he muttered.

Yaiba got to his feet and held what was left of his blade (the hilt, as well as about three inches of the sword).

"Damn it… don't think I'm just gonna lie down and take this…!" He growled, "Just you watch… I'll win… and then Rin will finally…" he gasped.

His sword started glowing, and in an instant, completely regenerated back to its full length.

Clear Wing growled in response, ready to attack once again.

Rin gazed at the arena in silence.

What was happening? Since when did Yugo fight like this?

"Hey, what's happening with Yuya?" Yuzu asked with worry in her eyes.

Yuya was leaning against the crystal for support as he held his chest, his breathing hard and ragged.

"Ah! Is my darling sick!?" Mieru exclaimed.

"He's not your darling!" Yuzu yelled.

Mieru stuck her tongue out at Yuzu, which prompted Yuzu to pull out her paper fan and start another scuffle with the small girl.

"Still… what's going on?" Ruri questioned, "I've never seen Yuto fight this ruthlessly…" she muttered.

"Yuri usually likes to be oppressive and cocky… and I can see him fighting like this…" Serena admitted, "But he's never had this much power behind him…" she pointed out.

"Maybe they just got mad for some reason…"

Everybody turned to the person that said that: Soul.

"What?" Soul asked, "Becoming stronger thanks to emotions… it isn't unheard of. Plenty of people can put more force into something if, say, incredibly angry or emotional…" he said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but what reason would Yuto or Yuri have to be angry?" Gongenzaka pointed out.

Soul shrugged. "Who knows… I might be wrong, so who cares…" Soul sighed.

Rin stared at Yugo with worry in her eyes.

The usually bright and beautiful Clear Wing now felt more like dark and terrifying.

"Yugo…" Rin mumbled.

Suddenly, her bracelet started glowing faintly.

Not only hers, but Yuzu's bracelet, Serena's, and Ruri's each started to glow their respective colors.

Rin's glowed green, Yuzu's glowed pink, Serena's glowed blue, and Ruri's glowed yellow. Each light was faint, but it was still noticeable by their wearers.

"What the…" Rin muttered as she stared at the green shine.

"My bracelet, it's…" Yuzu said softly.

Ruri and Serena each similarly stared at their bracelets, each mesmerized by the light.

Suddenly, all four lights briefly increased in intensity before dying back down.

"Huh? What just…?" Soul muttered, "Why did it get so bright for a moment…?" He muttered as he rubbed his eyes.

"Hey, look!" Syrup suddenly pointed at the arena.

All three dragons were now completely still, and a wave of relief washed over Yuya's face.

Not only that but around each dragon was something strange.

Around Dark Rebellion, yellow feathers were floating around him, and he was covered in yellow light.

Above Starving Venom, was what looked like a miniature moon that floated above Yuri's head, and Starving Venom was covered in blue light.

Green wind was blowing around Clear Wing, and a green aura surrounded Yugo similarly to the lights around his brothers.

"What is this…?" Yuya wondered out loud as a pink aura surrounded him, along with pink flowers sprouting at his feet.

Suddenly, both Yuto and Yuri reverted to their normal forms, both of them holding their foreheads and wincing.

"What happened…?" Yuto muttered.

"Why do I feel like this is Yugo's fault…?" Yuri groaned.

Yugo, however, remained in his form as Clear Wing and shook his head as if he was snapping himself out of a daze.

"Agh… my head hurts…" He groaned.

The three brothers looked around at their surroundings until finally noticing their opponents, who were now getting back to their feet.

"Tch… that's it, no more playing around…" Masumi growled.

"Crap, Dark Rebellion!" Yuto yelled.

However, the card didn't appear in his hand.

"Huh?" Yuto gasped, "Dark Rebellion! Hey! Transform!" Yuto yelled again and again.

Again, nothing happened.

Yuto looked over at Yuri and was surprised to see that he was having the same problem.

"Starving Venom! Damn it, come on!" Yuri said as he waved his arm frustratingly.

Hokuto and Yaiba each charged at Yuto and Yuri respectively, and the brothers each jumped backward to dodge.

"Why can't I use my dragon!?" Yuto yelled.

"Try using something else!" Yuri yelled back.

Yuto and Yuri each landed and attempted to transform again, and a blue and purple card appeared in their respective hands.

"Rend them! The Phantom Knights of Break Sword!" Yuto yelled.

"Come! Predaplant Chimerafflesia!" Yuri declared.

In a flash, they each transformed into a different Xyz and Fusion monster respectively. Yuto taking the form of an empty suit of black armor with blue flames forming the body within, though the monster lacked a head. He was also riding a horse that, just like Yuto's form, was made entirely out of black armor and blue flames from within.

Yuri, meanwhile, transformed into a monster that happened to be a part of Yuri's favorite species: A plant. His entire body was made up of green vines and roots, along with a beautiful top of pink petals, but a menacing eye in the middle. To top it all off, he had what looked like venus flytraps for arms.

"So we can transform into other monsters, but not our dragons…!?" Yuto exclaimed.

Yuto quickly held up his sword, which happened to be quite obviously broken, but still a good length, which provided the question of just how long was that sword originally? Either way, it functioned the way it was supposed to function and blocked an attack from Hokuto, who was still transformed into Messier 7.

Yuri in the meantime raised his "arms" and fired multiple blasts of purple liquid. It was a powerful venom that would weaken anybody hit by it tremendously, but it was also easy for someone like Masumi, who was transformed into Lady Dia, to dodge.

"Crap… they won't be able to hold out for long if they're stuck fighting like that…!" Yuya panicked.

He quickly transformed into Odd-Eyes and leaped from the island to help his brothers, leaving Timegazer and Stargazer to guard the crystal.

However, after only one jump, Yuya suddenly fell to the ground, out of breath.

"What the… I feel so sluggish…!" Yuya gasped as he forced himself back to his feet and kept running.

* * *

"What happened? Why aren't Yuto and Yuri using their dragons?" Syrup asked.

"Yeah, and Yuya looks slow for some reason…" Sora pointed out.

The girls glanced at each other, and then their bracelets.

What just happened, and was it their fault?

* * *

Yugo, however, remained in his form as Clear Wing, and instead of losing energy like what had seemingly happened to his brothers… he felt better than ever!

"Whoa, what the heck…" Yugo started to speak.

"Take this!"

Yugo quickly snapped out of his trance and raised Clear Wing's arms, blocking Yaiba's slash.

This time, however, Yaiba's sword didn't break.

Yugo quickly flew backward, escaping Yaiba's range and making it so Yaiba was now chasing after him.

"Hey! Get back here, damn it!" Yaiba yelled angrily.

"I don't remember what happened… but Yaiba got pretty banged up somehow…" Yugo muttered as he weaved past a floating island and dodging another one of Yaiba's slashes. "I might be able to take him down now…!" He realized.

In one way, he was right. But he soon found out that it wasn't that easy.

Yaiba's attacks were as fast as ever, even if he was injured. "Fine, then I'll outrange him!" Yugo declared as his wings glowed. "**Dichroic Shower!" **He yelled as countless green lasers fired from his wings, going up before curving back down and flying at Yaiba.

Yaiba held up his blade and parried countless beams before suddenly swinging his blade and deflecting one at Yugo, which Yugo barely managed to dodge.

"_Damn, he's more focused… is he having an adrenaline rush?" _Yugo thought as he dodged yet another slash from Yaiba, who had jumped up to attack but was just out of range.

"In that case…!" Yugo grunted as he flew backward and stopped, waiting for Yaiba to attack.

"Take this! Cross Slash!" Yaiba yelled as he jumped at Yugo.

"Now!" Yugo yelled as he began to spin around, green wind blowing around him, "Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" He yelled.

Both monsters clashed. Yaiba's blade against, well, Yugo's head.

"GRAAAAAAGH!" Yugo roared, his attack increasing in intensity and blowing through Yaiba.

Yaiba, despite having taken Yugo's strongest move, landed on an island and remained standing.

"Damn it… is Helldive Slasher not enough!?" Yugo exclaimed.

He looked up and saw Yuya, who had finally reached the area where Yuto and Yuri were desperately defending.

Yuya gasped for air but raised his head regardless. "Spiral… Flame Strike!" He gasped as he fired a stream of spiraling flames at Masumi.

But even Yugo could tell that the attack was weaker than normal. Was it exhaustion? But how was Yuya exhausted? He had been guarding the crystal this entire time.

Either way, Yuya was now multitasking by trying to support both Yuto and Yuri at a distance. Eventually, however, either Hokuto or Masumi would break past and charge at the crystal.

If Yugo were to join, however, he would be able to charge at the opposing crystal while Hokuto and Masumi remained pinned down by the other three brothers.

But if he left Yaiba, not only would it question the validity of the agreement, but Yaiba would likely take this chance to dash at the crystal that Yuya had only left guarded by spirits.

So, he only had one choice, didn't he?

"Yaiba! I'm taking you down, right here!" Yugo declared.

Yugo spun around as he charged at Yaiba again with another Helldive.

"_Gather your emotions… think of Rin!" _Yugo yelled in his mind, "_Think about her! Turn your feelings into strength! Go all out, damn it!" _

"**WHIRLWIND HELLDIVE SLASHER!" **Yugo screamed as he flew at Yaiba.

"Take this, my strongest attack!" Yaiba yelled, "**Triple-X Punishing Slash!" **He yelled as he swung his sword, which now glowed with golden light.

Clear Wing roared as the two attacks connected, clashing dramatically.

Yugo felt a surge of adrenaline hit him as he pushed against Yaiba's attack, which was ridiculously stubborn.

Yugo suddenly felt a sharp pain at the top of his head, where he had collided with Yaiba's blade.

"_Crap… I'm being pushed back…!" _Yugo thought as he felt his body move slightly backward against Yaiba's attack. "_Damn it, don't think about that! Think about Rin! Keep going! Break your limits, go even faster!" _He screamed inside his head.

Clear Wing suddenly started to glow bright white, it's wings shining an even brighter shade of green, and even turning lighter to the point where it was almost white.

Yugo roared as his power surged, suddenly beginning to push back against Yaiba.

Yaiba responded in kind, increasing the force in his attack and yelling at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly, images started to flash through Yugo's head.

He saw Clear Wing, and a monster he had unlocked during his time at school.

Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice.

Behind the two monsters was the silhouette of another dragon, its eyes gleaming bright yellow.

"I get it…!" Yugo exclaimed, "So this is how Synchro works!" He exclaimed.

An orange light suddenly shot from Clear Wing's chest and flew around in a circle before stopping above Yugo.

The light shattered, and for a brief moment, the dice monster appeared before suddenly glowing once more and changing into a small orb of white light.

The orb of light burst and a green ring suddenly appeared around Yugo.

"What the!?" Yaiba yelled, "Are you serious!? You're tuning, at a time like this!? Don't mess with me!" Yaiba yelled.

Yugo felt his focus reach even greater heights as he felt a surge of energy course through him. "I tune Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Come to me, my new power!" Yugo yelled.

A pillar of light erupted around him, surrounding him and blowing Yaiba away.

"W-W-What's this!? Yugo Sakaki... is he…" Nico commentated.

Melissa interrupted him. "He's performing a Tuning in the middle of a battle!" She yelled.

"Hey, isn't tuning a delicate process?" Serena asked.

Rin had a surprised look on her face. "Yeah, it is…" Rin replied, "When I first tuned my monsters for Winter Bell, I had to be completely focused the entire time…" she explained.

Ruri could remember the day Rin first obtained Winter Bell. If she remembered it correctly, Rin had put on noise-canceling earmuffs and spent the entire day in her room. Apparently, she had done it about twenty times before she lost count, and when she finally managed to do it successfully, she looked outside and saw that the morning had suddenly turned to almost evening.

Of course, it was her first time trying, and it was common for the first time to take a while. But Yugo's only Synchro monster at this point was Clear Wing, which he had obtained right off the bat.

"**Wings that shine with holy light, envelope my body, and strike down my enemies!" **Yugo chanted, "**Come forth! Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!"**

The light vanished, and Yugo was still transformed into Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, but a white card floated in front of him.

With a roar, Yugo chomped down on the card in front of him, shattering the glowing card and causing a flash of white light to envelope him once more.

Even when the light dissipated, Yugo still looked like he was glowing.

Blinding white light shone off of the new dragon's form. It resembled Clear Wing, but its wings were larger and made up of large white crystals that exuded a divine light that illuminated the entire stadium.

"Who cares if you have a new form!?" Yaiba declared as he held his sword up, which was still glowing, "This attack strikes twice!" He yelled.

Yugo roared, and suddenly, he was gone.

"Wha!?" Yaiba exclaimed as he looked up.

Yugo had flown up and had moved faster than Yaiba's eyes could perceive.

And not only that but immediately after Yugo reached a certain altitude, he made a sharp turn and went down at an angle.

This happened again and again, and even everybody else who was fighting stopped and stared.

Yugo's turns had no curve, he was switching directions immediately, and not losing any speed either.

"W-What, how is he so fast!?" Yaiba yelled.

Wind started to swirl around Crystal Wing as it started to go faster and faster, "Take this, Yaiba!" Yugo yelled as he flew through the sky.

"Bring it on!" Yaiba yelled.

Yugo flew up again, and in a flash of light, changed directions and flew straight at Yaiba, wind swirling around him as he cut through the sky.

"**Crystallos, Edge of the Gale!" **

Spikes suddenly appeared on Yugo's wings as he charged at Yaiba, who was swinging his blade to counter Yugo's attack.

In a single instant, Yugo blew past Yaiba, shattering his sword and blowing through Yaiba.

And with a single roar from Crystal Wing, an explosion erupted around Yaiba, and he fell backward, reverting to his human form as he fell unconscious.

"Crap, the crystal…!" Masumi exclaimed as she jumped away from Yuri and dashed for her crystal.

A flash of light from Yugo, and another flash of light from Masumi, who had drawn her sword and taken a defensive stance.

"Masumi!" Hokuto yelled as he tried to assist her, only to have his path blocked by Yuto, who jumped in front of him and attacked him with a rush of attacks.

"Go! Yugo!" Yuto yelled.

"Don't mess it up, Fusion!" Yuri yelled.

"I keep telling you, damn it…" Yugo growled as he charged at Masumi and the crystal.

Wind flew around Yugo as he flew forward.

"MY NAME IS YUGO!" He declared as he blew past Masumi and the crystal.

In a single instant, a thin line appeared in the center of the crystal.

With that single line, that single crack.

The crystal split in two, before it's remains shattered into pieces.

The crowd cheered as Yugo landed and skidded to a halt, rearing his head and roaring to the sky.

"They did it! They won!" Syrup exclaimed.

Rin let out a sigh of relief as she leaned back into her seat.

"They won…" she sighed.

Hokuto reverted to normal and threw something against the ground in frustration as the islands began to glow and descend back to the ground, returning the stadium to normal.

In a flash of light, Yugo returned to his human form and collapsed onto the ground. "Hah… hah… man, I'm exhausted…" He sighed.

Suddenly, he felt Yuya tackle him as Yuto and Yuri walked over, both of them clapping their hands.

"That was incredible, Yugo!" Yuya exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah… don't let it get to your head, Yugo…" Yuri said with a small smile.

"Congrats, this win is thanks to you, Yugo," Yuto said as he patted him on the back.

When Yugo didn't answer, each of them looked at Yugo in confusion.

He was asleep, completely passed out.

"Aha… aha!" Yuya laughed.

Yuto chuckled as well. "Good work, Yugo…" he said softly.

_Bonus Scene (Teaching!):_

Rin: Hey everyone! Sorry, there's no bonus scene today, so instead, we're here to teach you all about something in our world!

Yugo: Are we sure this is a good idea?

Rin: Of course it is! It's like the Taisho Secrets in Demon Slayer, or previews for the next episode that's done in other anime!

Yugo: But this isn't an anime… this is a fanfiction…

Rin: Hush! We're already breaking the fourth wall right now, no need to shatter it completely!

Yugo: Okay, okay!

Rin: Now that we have that out of the way… Mr. Yugo and I are gonna talk about something briefly mentioned in this chapter… Accel Boost!

Yugo: Like the Accel Synchro from 5ds, right?

Rin: Yes! Though they aren't the same thing.

Yugo: Well, duh! We transform here, we don't summon monsters (except for Yuya and anybody else who uses pendulum or servant spirits…)

Rin: Now then, Accel Boost is a phenomenon exclusive to duelists that use Synchro Monsters, and it pretty much requires a D-Wheel.

Yugo: Yeah! You see, if you transform into a Synchro Monster while moving at a ridiculous level of speed, you get a huge boost in power for a little bit!

Rin: More specifically… Accel Boost improves the user's strength, power, speed, durability…

Yugo: Everything, basically!

Rin: Well, if you put it lightly- wait, Yugo, how do you know about this? Don't you sleep in like, every class?

Yugo: Hey! So does Yuya!

Rin: Don't use your little brother as an excuse! I was sure that you were passed out in the middle of class when we learned this!

Yugo: Hey! I can pay attention when I want to!

Rin: You mean you can pay attention when it interests you…

Yugo: Exactly! Wait- hey! No! That's not true!

Rin: …

Yugo: Hey! Don't give me that face! Come on! Please! That face hurts me emotionally!

Rin: Ignoring Yugo… every monster type has a special ability that is exclusive to them, except for standard monsters!

Yugo: Yeah! Even pendulum has one! Remember back in the preliminaries when Yuya did something called "Eternal Pendulum"?

Rin: Yes, that's Pendulum's unique ability. Once a day, a pendulum-user can heal all of their wounds and return them to peak condition, while also giving them a large power-up!

Yugo: Specifically, it lets them bring out more than just two spirits to help them. But it can only be used once a day, so it should be used sparingly!

Rin: Wait, shouldn't we have let Yuya and Yuzu explain this since they're the pendulum users?

Yugo: Ah, crap! Sorry, Yuya!

Rin: Well, I think that's enough for today…

Yugo: Alright! I can't wait for the next chapter!

Rin: And why is that, Yugo?

Yugo: Um… well… ah! Cut the feed, cut the feed!

Rin: We'll see you all next time! Now, get over here Yugo! I have some questions for you!

Yugo: EEK!

**End**

**This chapter… is ridiculously larger than I thought it would be.**

**Turns out, shoving the entirety of a fight into a single chapter is a recipe for a chapter that has like, 12000 freaking words.**

**But at the same time, it wasn't worth it to cut the fight in half and put one half in this chapter and another in the next, because just one half of this fight isn't enough for a full chapter, and then I would be stuck with the next chapter, which I wouldn't be able to end immediately after the fight, because it would be too short!**

**Either way, you guys can have fun with this abnormally long chapter now, because while I did have fun writing this… it was tiring.**

**I'm more used to writing duels in the card game, and not actual full-on fights.**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter… and you'll be getting teaching sessions from the characters now and then to explain certain things that are briefly mentioned in the chapters now… kind of like the Taisho Secrets in Demon Slayer.**

**Now, if you don't mind, I am gonna go hibernate…**


	17. Chapter 17: Destiny

**Chapter 17: Destiny**

"Brave Claw Revolution!"

It was an easy fight, especially since Reiji didn't even need to do anything.

Right from the start of the match, Shun had taken off and annihilated the entirety of the opposing team, along with the crystal.

Now, who were fighting next…

The Yu-Boys, as he was now going to call them for short, had won their match beforehand, and they had their match immediately afterward.

Now let's see… somebody named Kaito had chosen to fight alone, and he was up next. This normally wouldn't worry him… but he had been a complete monster in the preliminaries, and even if you hadn't seen the clips of him, you could get a first-hand account of his strength from the mountain of students he had crushed.

Luckily for them, they weren't going to cross paths with the boy anytime soon. Therefore, the plan could continue smoothly.

Well, whether it was a plan at all was still up in the air.

All he knew was that his father was planning something terrible… and it relied heavily on one of four certain individuals winning the tournament.

Yuya Sakaki, Yuto Sakaki, Yugo Sakaki, and Yuri Sakaki.

From what he could tell… the brothers had no involvement with Leo's plan, at least, not knowingly.

In the meantime, however, he would keep tabs on his "sisters" and the boys, since they were key pieces in this game.

* * *

"So? What do you think of that?" Yugo declared.

Rin stood next to Yugo, who was standing firm while facing Yaiba.

Yaiba sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah yeah, I get it…" he sighed.

Yugo raised an eyebrow in doubt.

"Hey, don't give me that look! I know when to admit defeat!" Yaiba defended himself.

"So… you'll leave me alone now…?" Rin asked.

"If… if that's what you want, I guess…" Yaiba sighed, "you can go ahead and be with her, Yugo…" he said in defeat.

Yugo's face flushed red. "W-What do you mean by that!?" He exclaimed as his face rose in temperature.

"What, isn't that what happens when you win?" Yaiba tilted his head.

"N-No! She gets a choice if I win, that's all!" Yugo yelled as he tried to cover his face.

"A choice?" Yaiba questioned.

Rin gulped, it was bound to happen eventually.

Yugo was trying to hide his face, but Rin could tell that he was looking at her through the small cracks in his fingers.

_I mean, you did kiss him earlier…_

"_Why do feelings have to be so complicated…" _Rin thought as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of her face.

She suddenly noticed Serena, who was standing nearby, but out of sight from Yugo and Yaiba.

She saw Serena mouth some words at her.

"_Just say what your heart wants, it's your choice"_

What does her heart want…?

In her heart, she would feel rapid beating every time she was around Yugo. She would feel happier, cheerier, and all in all, better.

Just because of his presence.

But at the same time, the thought of being in a relationship at this time…

Her heart fluttered at the thought… but it also shuddered in nervousness.

The answer… it was clear.

"Nobody!" Rin said with a smile.

"Huh?" Yugo said as he stared at her.

"As if I'm just going to choose somebody, right here and now!" She said with a soft smile, "I don't feel ready for a relationship yet, and I don't have to be in one if I don't want to be in one…" she explained.

She turned and looked right into Yugo's eyes, her amber eyes meeting his blue eyes.

"Maybe one day, though…" she said with a smile.

It felt like a cool and gentle breeze had just washed over Yugo… but they were indoors, so how?

Rin turned on her heel and walked away, a smile on her face while Yugo still processed what had just happened.

Rin turned the corner and promptly collapsed against the wall, her heart beating a mile a minute.

She felt satisfied with the answer she had come to. She was sure that if she had asked Yugo out, this feeling of satisfaction wouldn't exist.

Of course, there was the fear that Yugo might be taken from her because she chose to wait… but this was her decision to make.

Maybe one day, though…

* * *

"Come on, guys! Dinner's on Yuto!" Yuri called as they left the building.

"Wait WHAT!? Hey, no! I'm broke!" Yuto yelled desperately.

"What, does that mean you're gonna make you're younger brothers pay?" Yuri taunted.

"Urk…!" Yuto groaned as Yuri played the "you're-the-oldest card" on him.

"Or are you gonna make one of the girls pay?" Yuri continued.

"HNGH!" Yuto nearly fell to one knee as Yuri pulled at his gentlemanly-side.

"Guys, I have a lot of money saved up, so maybe I should…" Yuya started to speak up.

"No"

"Absolutely not"

"Huh!?" Yuya exclaimed as both Yuto and Yuri shot him down at the same time. "Why not!?"

"Because you will never, and I mean _NEVER, _have to lose money because of us…" Yuri growled.

"As the little brother, you have this privilege…" Yuto said with a serious look on his face that was too cool for the situation.

"Wow… talk about favoritism among siblings… and it's for the same sibling as well…" Soul muttered.

**Yuri's favorite: Yuya**

**Yugo's favorite: Yuya**

**Yuto's favorite: Yuya**

Yugo suddenly ran up to them, rejoining the group with Rin following closely behind.

"Guys, wait up!" He yelled as he caught up to them, gasping for air while Rin casually walked up.

"Oh good, just in time… Fusion…" Yuri said deviously.

"MY NAME IS NOT FUSION, IT'S-" Yugo started to yell.

"Whoever's not paying, NOT PAYING!" Yuri suddenly yelled.

It was like a bolt of lightning shot through everybody's skulls, causing them either to act out the next few seconds on either instinct or desperation.

"NOT PAYING!"

Everybody except Yugo yelled those words simultaneously, most of them did it out of desperation for their wallets, while Yuya did it instinctively.

"Wait, what?" Yugo tilted his head.

"Well well well… I guess we know who's treating us to dinner, then!" Yuri said as an evil smile spread across his face.

Realization spread across Yugo's face, as well as a sense of dread.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Sora had taken his leave immediately after the matches ended, and said that he would be back at the hotel soon.

After that, he promptly turned a corner and entered an alleyway.

A hooded figure was waiting there for him.

"So, what happens now, teach?" Sora asked.

"Teach?" The hooded figure questioned.

"Oh, don't underestimate me…" Sora grinned, "I may not know who you are, but I found out that you're a teacher…" he explained.

"For the sake of the mission, I suggest you refrain from 'learning' anything else…" the hooded figure warned.

"Yeah yeah, I was just curious, that's all…" Sora pouted.

A mask was covering the hooded figure's face, making it impossible to even imagine the person's face thanks to the combination of the darkness of the alley, the black and edgy hood, and the apparently dark-blue mask.

"Do you have what we need?" The hooded figure asked.

Sora grinned and pulled out a small flash drive from his pocket. "Of course I do, who do you think I am?" He asked.

"A sugar-crazed student that just so happens to be useful to Academia, that's what…" The hooded figure said coldly.

Sora pouted. "Damn, you don't have to be so cold, though…" he said with a playful pout.

The man scoffed, "You should get going now… and remember to take cover when it starts to rain…" the man said cryptically.

Sora understood and nodded, "Yes sir!" He said with an enthusiastic smile.

* * *

"A-All of this… is coming out of my wallet…?" Yugo gulped.

Yuri had specifically chosen a fairly expensive place, just to spite Yugo.

Yugo could practically feel his wallet growing lighter as he stared at the menu of expensive food.

Normally, they'd never be able to afford this… but because they were students and members of the tournament, they got a massive 75% discount on everything (much to Yugo's happiness, and Yuri's frustration).

Yugo's wallet was still going to suffer, regardless.

Yuya's appetite knew no bounds, and neither did Yugo's appetite. Yuto would probably stay on the reasonable side, but Yuri was probably going to get as much as he could fit into his stomach just so Yugo's wallet could die.

Yuzu, Ruri, and Rin were each ordering about medium portions, which meant that they were taking full advantage of the free meal since they usually ordered small.

Serena, on the other hand, was eating just like Yuri, but not because she was being mean to him… it was because she was a freaking gorilla that ate everything in sight.

Serena suddenly glared at him, and Yugo jumped back in fear. "_Can she read minds now!? Is she a psychic gorilla!?" _He panicked inside his head.

Serena could not read minds, but she could instinctively tell when Yugo was thinking something about her that she didn't like. Unfortunately, she wasn't allowed to slug him because of thoughts she couldn't hear.

Thank god that Syrup and Soul decided to leave upon seeing the place, both of them staring at Yugo with a look of pity in their eyes.

Yuya looked at Yugo with a sympathetic look. "_If you can't afford the bill, we can split it…" _he whispered.

You see, this right here, is why Yuya was Yugo's favorite.

The table was eventually completely covered in different plates, and Yugo was grateful for Yuya's hospitality because he would NOT be able to afford this.

"Wait, everybody shut up for a second…" Serena suddenly hissed.

Everyone's heads tilted as they turned to face whatever Serena was staring at.

"Holy shit…"

"So the rumors are true…"

They did NOT expect to see their teacher, Yuma, walk-in with the assistant teacher, Kotori.

Ruri (who was a sucker for romance stories) suddenly gushed. "Aww! Are they finally a thing?" She asked.

"Let's not make any unnecessary assumptions…" Yuto coughed.

"Crap, guys! It would be super awkward if they knew that they had students here…!" Ruri suddenly hissed.

"Crap, you're right… I don't want to be the awkward factor in a date…" Yuri hissed.

"Don't worry, I come prepared for every situation…" Serena said as she pulled something out of her bag.

…

It was just Yuma treating her to dinner, as a form of apology for the stunt he had pulled earlier that day.

It was, by no means, a date.

Nope.

No way.

Not like she would date him, anyways.

The fancy clothing was just a formality.

Why was his heart beating so fast? Did he have a heart condition!?

Fuck it, Kattobingu all the way!

"_Yuma, your heart rate is abnormally high! If it rises much higher, you will need immediate medical assistance!" _Astral exclaimed from inside his head.

"_Oh fuck, seriously?" _Yuma panicked inside his head.

"Yuma are you okay?"

Yuma looked down at the green-haired woman, who was wearing a very… well… _oomph, that dress is beautiful on her…_

Wait, what?

They quickly found a seat and buried their faces in the menus, hiding their faces in embarrassment.

"So, uhh… what do you think…?" Kotori suddenly asked.

"Huh? Think of what?" Yuma asked.

"Well… of me…?" Kotori clarified.

"_Oh shit… okay, Yuma Tsukumo… think fast, and talk smart…!" _Yuma thought frantically.

"Well, you're definitely really important to me…" Yuma said quietly.

Kotori looked up from her menu.

"You're an important frie-"

Right before Yuma made a horrible mistake that he realized he was doing as the words started to escape his lips, a loud bang was heard from the table behind them.

"_Don't __**Fucking **__say something as dumb as that…!"_

"_Ruri, be quiet! And don't curse!"_

"_I never thought I would hear Ruri of all people, curse…"_

"_She gets heated when it comes to her ships…"_

"Wait a minute…" Yuma muttered as he leaned over and looked at the people at the table.

Eight people were crammed into the booth, and they were wearing… funny disguise glasses?

"Oh, uhh… good evening, good sir!" The green-haired girl started speaking in a forced British accent, "How may we help you?" She asked.

"_What kind of accent was that!?"_

"_Shut up, shut up!"_

Yuma's eyebrow twitched as he could hear the whispers.

On top of that, disguise glasses are never useful.

"Hello, Sakaki's and Kurosaki's…" Yuma groaned.

"I TOLD YOU THESE WOULDN'T WORK!" Yuri screamed as he threw the disguise glasses at the ground.

"I have BEEN SCAMMED!" Serena screamed, doing the same thing as Yuri.

"How much money did you spend on _gag glasses _of all things!?" Yuto exclaimed.

"TOO MUCH!" Serena shot back.

It was going to be a long night…

* * *

"I'm just saying, it could be a good idea!" Ruri exclaimed.

"No, definitely not, no way!" Yuzu shot back.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Ruri pouted.

"Serena, help me out here!" Yuzu begged.

"I honestly couldn't care less, Yuzu…" Serena deadpanned.

"Serena!" Yuzu cried.

The boys didn't hear the rest of the conversation, as the girls had entered their room at that moment, leaving whatever they were talking about a mystery.

"By the way, Yugo… where did you get the riding suit?" Yuya asked.

"Oh, this?" Yugo looked down at his suit.

It had gotten pretty dirty… no thanks to the match earlier. Thankfully, it could be washed just like anything else, according to Rin.

"Rin made it for me…" Yugo said with a smile.

"Oh?" Yuri raised an eyebrow, "What, did she give it to you and then confess?" Yuri asked.

"C-Confess!?" Yugo exclaimed.

His memory shifted to the kiss on the cheek he received, and his face turned red.

"N-No… I don't think anything like that is gonna happen anytime soon…" Yugo sighed.

Yuto stared at him for a moment, before letting out a long sigh.

"Alright… a full explanation, please?" Yuto asked.

Yugo explained the entire situation to them.

"Ah, so that's why you wanted to fight with that Yaiba guy so much…" Yuya muttered.

"Yeah, well… I guess it ended well, and I got a new power as well…" Yugo sighed.

"Oh yeah! Hey, what the heck was that, by the way!?" Yuri suddenly exclaimed.

"We can talk about Yugo's new power after we finish this topic…" Yuto said sternly, much to Yuri's displeasure.

"You do realize that she technically never turned you down, right?" Yuya asked.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"I mean… she just said that she wasn't ready yet, right?" Yuya continued, "What if you wait for something like, I dunno, a school dance before you ask her?" Yuya asked.

Yugo put his hands on Yuya's shoulders.

"Yuya… have I ever told you that you're a genius?" He asked.

* * *

"Please… wake up…"

Syrup opened her eyes in surprise, quickly scanning her surroundings.

It was a large and beautiful field. Grass stretched on for miles, and the grass was the most brilliant shade of green that she had ever seen. Upon further inspection, there were also countless flowers of every color littered about the scenery, along with large purple mountains with white tips in the distance.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Syrup jumped in surprise as she turned and saw a small girl sitting at her side. "Ah! Who are you!?" She exclaimed.

The girl giggled, "What, you don't remember me?" She asked.

Syrup's eyes widened.

She recognized the girl, but not from her memories… from Soul's.

"You're… Cahya…!" Syrup gasped.

A dream, this had to be a dream.

"Well, you aren't wrong!" The girl said cheerfully.

"Did… did you just read my mind…?" Syrup asked.

"In a way, yes…" Cahya replied nonchalantly.

Cahya turned and looked out at the scenery that expanded out in front of them. "This is your mind… I came here so that we could speak…" Cahya explained.

"So we could… wait, aren't you dead?" Syrup asked.

Cahya didn't respond.

"Hey… can you answer me…?" Syrup asked kindly.

Cahya gave her a sad look. "My brother blames himself for what happened to me… and no matter what I do, I can't get him to listen when I try to talk to him…" she said sadly.

"Wait, talk to him!?" Syrup exclaimed, "Wait wait wait… this is too much! Explain, please!" She said loudly.

Cahya giggled, "I'm sorry, I don't have enough time to explain everything in detail…" she said apologetically, "but I promise that I'm here to help… listen, just focus on getting rid of the seal on my brother, and I'll handle things from there…" Cahya said.

Cahya suddenly started to glow, and the scenery around them was starting to vanish. On top of that, Syrup suddenly felt a wave of fatigue washing over her.

"This isn't just a dream… when you wake up, you'll be able to tell…"

…

Syrup shot out of bed with a start, breathing heavily.

"What… what was that…?" She gasped.

So much had just happened, and way too quickly for her to process it properly.

But… there was something in her hand that was glowing faintly… and it wasn't something that was there before.

She seemed to instinctively know what it was.

* * *

Later that night, Yuya remembered his conversation with Kachidoki.

This prompted him to quickly go down to the training rooms and look for the one that Kachidoki told him to meet him in.

Upon opening the door, the long-haired boy was sitting in the middle of the room, his legs crossed.

"Ah, you're here…" Kachidoki said as Yuya entered the room.

"Y-Yeah… did you need anything?" Yuya asked nervously.

Kachidoki stood up and stared right into Yuya's eyes. "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon, how long can you use him for?" He said promptly.

"Oh! Uh… about two seconds…" Yuya said sheepishly.

Kachidoki nodded, "Hm… that's better than I thought it would be…" he muttered.

"Huh?" Said Yuya.

Kachidoki walked over to him and looked him dead in the eyes.

"If you want to win in this tournament, you're going to need Odd-Eyes Rebellion," Kachidoki said sternly, "therefore, I am taking it upon myself to make sure that you get strong enough to maintain that form as easily as anything else in your arsenal!" He declared.

"H-Huh!?" Yuya exclaimed, "W-What do you… I mean, why now!?" He exclaimed.

"During the preliminaries, you managed to defeat me spectacularly…" Kachidoki said as he turned and walked towards the other side of the room, "however, if not for Rebellion, you would have lost, correct?" He asked.

Yuya nodded sheepishly.

"The reason you cannot use Rebellion consistently is due to your weakness," Kachidoki said harshly, "You might be able to use that power when in a pinch, or perhaps in a moment of extreme emotion… but you should not rely on that," he said as he tapped the wall, bringing up a screen.

"From now on, every night, I am going to train you until that dragon of yours will have no choice but to come out at your command!" He declared.

As he said that, the room began to glow and change, now taking the appearance of a large and grassy plain.

"W-Wait, every day!?" Yuya exclaimed, "B-But I haven't even said yes…" he tried to say.

"Do you mean to say that you wish to stay this way!?" Kachidoki yelled, "Your principles of entertaining the crowd will not carry any weight if your opponent is stronger than you!" He declared.

"Yuya Sakaki, I hold immense respect for you," Kachidoki said as a purple card appeared in front of him, "therefore, I shall train you until no matter what I do, I would stand no chance against you!" He yelled.

Kachidoki jumped and kicked the purple card in front of him, shattering it and causing him to transform.

"Shura the Supremacy Star!" He yelled.

Yuya quickly transformed as well. "Come! Odd-Eyes!" He yelled.

"Wrong monster!" Kachidoki yelled as his transformation finished, immediately charging at Yuya, "Bring out Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!" He yelled as he thrusted his spear at the red dragon Yuya had transformed into.

The spear collided with Yuya's skull, and Yuya felt himself go flying backward.

But the attack didn't carry as much weight and power as they did in the preliminaries, which confused Yuya as he got to his feet.

Kachidoki stretched his arm as he walked towards Yuya. "It seems that, for some reason, I cannot use the same level of power as I did in the preliminaries…" he said calmly, "but that may be for the best since that same power was also destroying me…" he explained.

Regardless, Kachidoki was a strong opponent, and it didn't look like he was letting Yuya leave.

"Move forward and become stronger! Yuya!" Kachidoki yelled as he jumped into the air, twirling his spear.

"Come, Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!" Yuya yelled.

For a brief moment, Yuya's strongest dragon erupted out of blue and green light, flying upward to clash with Kachidoki.

However, the form suddenly vanished, and Yuya was back in the form of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon once more.

Kachidoki's spear struck Yuya down once again, and Yuya struggled to get up this time.

"Two seconds, not even long enough to unleash a single attack…" Kachidoki scolded, "However, I promise you that by the end of this, that fact will change!" He declared.

Yuya grunted as he got to his feet, "Hah… okay, okay… bring it on…!" Yuya gasped.

* * *

"Hey, look at that…" Yugo said as he, Yuto, and Yuri scanned the brackets for the tournament.

"There's a loser's bracket here, meaning that even if we lose, we'll still be in the tournament…" Yuto muttered.

"That's not an excuse to lose since being in the loser's bracket will make things harder in the long run…" Yuri pointed out.

Those who are in the losers bracket would have to fight one extra match. The normal brackets for the team duels consisted of three matches before you would get to proceed to the next stage of the tournament.

If you lose in any of these duels, however, you are shoved down into the losers bracket, which functioned the same, but only gave the chance to continue forward to one team, and if you lost in the losers, you were out for good.

"Who are we fighting next, then?" Yugo asked.

"Let's see… we're fighting a team of two called… the Amazon Sisters…?" Yuto mumbled.

"Ooh, they're quite attractive, aren't they?" Yuri teased as he looked at the picture of the team members, revealing twin sisters that looked almost identical, except one had blonde hair and a kind face, while the other had white hair and a cold face.

"They come from Academia, so we should be careful," Yuto said cautiously.

"What about the girls, then?" Yugo asked.

"The girls are fighting… a team from Sector…" Yuto sighed.

"What's with the sigh?" Yuri said with a raised eyebrow.

"It's just like their last match with Obelisk Force… it's four people with completely identical uniforms and everything…" Yuto explained.

"Well then, they should have no problem with them…" Yuri said nonchalantly.

At that moment, the door opened, and an exhausted Yuya walked inside.

"Hey, where have you been?" Yuto asked.

"Kachidoki… he was training me…" Yuya sighed before collapsing on the ground, asleep.

"Ah, so that's what he wanted with Yuya…" Yugo said half-mindedly.

"Speaking of training, we should probably do the same…" Yuto said as he shoved the bracket information into a drawer and stood up.

"HUH!?" Yuya exclaimed, "But… I'm tired…!" Yuya whined.

"Listen, we hardly ever do this as a full group, you're coming along!" Yugo said as he dragged Yuya out of the room, Yuto and Yuri following from behind.

"You still need to practice using Crystal Wing, Yugo…"

"One of these days, I'm gonna be strong enough to completely crush all of you, so look forward to that!"

"Yuri, shut up…"

* * *

Syrup stared at the brackets and gulped.

If they won the next match, and the boys won their match as well.

They would be facing off.

It might be perfect. Her plan was finally coming together.

So, going to an adult for help would likely just shut Soul off completely, so that was out of the question.

In the end, Soul himself needed to accept his power.

But since he couldn't control it, undoing the seal would undoubtedly cause him to lose control, and if he hurt anybody because of it, everything would go to waste.

That's why somebody would need to keep Soul's body occupied while she helped Soul to control his power.

How she was going to do that… was something she didn't know.

The dream she had the night before was real… she could remember every detail, and not only that, but she had physical proof of the encounter, somehow.

A small key that fits in the palm of her hand and radiated a soft and constant glow.

It was for the seal, and while she had no idea how she knew this… she still knew it to be a fact.

The number of complications and things she didn't know was giving her a headache.

"Argh… why can't things make sense for once!" She exclaimed as she rubbed her head in frustration.

She sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I'll… I'll need to tell them if I want this to work…" she sighed.

* * *

"Mr. Roger, Sir!"

Roger turned away from the chessboard he had been eyeing to face the man who was addressing him. "Yes?" He replied.

"Leo Akaba's daughters are to fight one of our teams in the next round, should we have them forfeit?" The man asked.

"Hm…" Roger hummed as he eyed the chessboard again, in particular, one of the white pawns.

"No, let them fight, but have them throw the match if they should start to win…" he said as he bent down and picked up the pawn, moving it a single space forward… and right where it could be easily taken by the black queen, but nobody else.

"Very well, consider it done!" The man declared, quickly leaving the room.

"_Leo Akaba…" _Roger thought as he eyed the pawn he had put up for sacrifice, "_I will play along with your plans… for now…" _He thought as he picked up the black queen and moved it forward, dispatching of the white pawn with ease.

* * *

"Does everyone know why they have been called here?"

Atem, the person who had spoken, sat at a large round table with Yugi sitting next to him. On the other side, sat Judai Yuki, Yusei Fudo, and Yuma Tsukumo.

"Um, are we supposed to…?" Yuma asked.

"It's been a while, but I remember the conversation vividly…" Yusei frowned.

"Wait, which conversation?" Judai tilted his head in confusion.

"Does everybody remember the first day of school?" Yugi cut in.

"Of… this school year?" Yuma asked, "Well, of course! It's the first day of a new year! That and the fact that we were attacked…" he sighed.

"We held a meeting that day to discuss what had happened…" Yugi reminded them, "remember what we talked about?" He asked.

Yusei frowned, while both Yuma and Judai looked dead confused.

"_A traitor…" _Atem's voice rang through the room.

Oh, right.

"I have called you all here because you all are not only the strongest duelists in our school but also some of my most trusted companions…" Atem explained, "I also had to keep the group small to remain discreet…" he explained.

"So, have you found the traitor…?" Yusei asked.

"No, but I have a list of suspects…" Atem took out a sheet of paper and had it slide to their side, "I have closely examined every teacher this entire year, and unfortunately, the traitor is skilled at hiding their tracks…" he sighed.

"I still can't believe that anybody would be a traitor…" Judai sighed as he picked up the list, which only increased his frown.

"Hey, no way! There's absolutely no way!" Yuma exclaimed.

"I have confirmed that there is only one among the teachers, Yuma…" Atem pointed out.

It did not feel nice to consider anybody on the list to be a traitor.

"There are three people on that list, and I want each of you to pick one and monitor that person…" Atem explained.

**Suspects:**

**Ryoga Kamishiro**

**Jack Atlas**

**Asuka Tenjoin**

"I can't see Jack betraying us…" Yusei muttered.

"I can say the same about Asuka…" Judai agreed.

"Shark is off the table, period!" Yuma exclaimed, "We've known each other since we attended this school as students! There's no way!" He exclaimed.

"I want to keep personal feelings out of this as much as possible, so I have assigned you to someone myself…" Yugi said as his face turned serious.

Atem looked at Yusei, "Yusei, you will be monitoring Ryoga…" Atem said sternly.

"What!? Oh, come on!" Yuma whined.

"Yuma, I understand how you feel, but please try to understand," Yugi said calmly, "We're simply taking the necessary precautions, and we can't have you monitor Ryoga because you would be biased for him…" he explained.

Yuma couldn't say anything against that.

Atem cleared his throat and continued. "Yuma, you will be monitoring Asuka, while Judai monitors Jack…" Atem finished.

Judai gulped at the thought of being near Jack (it usually ended badly. Either with Judai being turned into a guinea pig for an experimental D-Wheel, which usually ended with something exploding).

"That will be all, and remember that this information must remain inside this group…" Atem said sternly.

* * *

"Stop being a bitch and stay still!"

"Why don't you catch me first!?"

Yuri was angrily trying to shoot down Yugo, who had transformed into Crystal Wing and was flying around at a speed that Yuri couldn't hit.

Suddenly, Yuto crashed into Yugo, starting a midair grapple for dominance as they both collided with the ground.

"Y-Yuya! Help me hold him down!" Yuto exclaimed.

Yuya, though he was transformed into Odd-Eyes, was curled up and fast asleep.

"YUYA!" Yuto yelled.

Yugo broke free and took to the skies again. "HAHAHAHA! YOU SHALL NEVER CATCH ME, FOR I AM INVINCI-" Yugo started to taunt.

And then he flew into a tree.

He then kept going, because of how fast he was moving, and tore through the ground, effectively eating a metric ton of dirt.

"What's that? I can't hear you over how shit you are!" Yuri taunted.

"EXCUSE ME!?" Yugo screamed as he burst out of the ground with a roar.

"DISOBEY!"

Yugo yelped as Yuto rammed into him again, throwing them against one of the Real-Solid-Vision mountains.

Yuya, meanwhile, was yawning.

Yuri's wings opened up and extended, shooting towards Yugo and latching onto his wings, draining his energy.

"W-What the!? Are you eating me!?" Yugo exclaimed.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing…" Yuri said sarcastically.

"EW! EW! EWWWW!" Yugo shrieked as he flew around sporadically.

And then he crashed into Yuya.

"Hey! I'm trying to sleep!" Yuya yelled angrily.

"We're training! Stop sleeping!" Yugo shot back.

"**SPIRAL FLAME STRIKE!"**

Yugo quickly dodged the stream of flames, which went on to blast Yuto out of the sky.

"Why… me…?" Yuto wheezed.

"Yuto! No!" Yuya cried.

"Yuya! Cut it out with the friendly fire, we're trying to beat up Fusion!" Yuri exclaimed.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, _MY NAME IS YU-"_

* * *

After the training, Yuya promptly returned to his room and passed out, and Yugo was found by Rin as he was returning to the room with Yuya.

"Oh! Yugo, I was just looking for you," Rin said as she ran over to him.

"O-Oh, Rin!" Yugo said as his cheeks pinkened, "What's up?" He asked.

"You said you were working on something for your match, right?" Rin asked, "Was it, Crystal Wing?" She asked.

"Well, no… that just sort of happened…" Yugo admitted.

"Then what were you working on?" She asked.

Yugo rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Promise you won't laugh?" He asked.

"That depends on what it is," Rin said with a grin.

"Well… come with me, then," he said, motioning for her to follow him as he started to walk.

…

"This is…" Rin muttered.

"Terrible, I know…" Yugo sighed.

Yugo had taken her to the roof, where he had deployed his attempt at making a D-Wheel.

"Well, yes…" Rin admitted, "But honestly… considering that you were the only one working on it, this is pretty impressive!" She said positively.

"You don't have to say that," Yugo started to say.

"No, I'm serious!" Rin said as she walked over to the piece of machinery, "Yes, it's a bit shoddy… the balance is almost nonexistent, and almost zero symmetry, combined with the fact that the system programmed terribly… but even still, it's more progress then I would have thought anybody could make on their own for a first try!" She said with a smile.

"Yeah, but it's still a failure, I can't use something like this," Yugo sighed.

"Hm…" Rin said as she took a closer look at the machine, "Well… you're in luck," Rin said as she stood up.

"Hm?" Yugo looked up.

"Think of it as my way of paying you back for what you did for me," Rin explained, "As of now, we're going to be working together on this!" She declared.

"Huh…?" Said Yugo, "Wait, huh!?" He said with an even louder voice.

"You heard me," Rin said with a grin, "we're going to work on this, and make you a working D-Wheel by the next round of the tournament!" She said confidently.

"A-Are you serious?" Yugo asked, "But… then won't you be giving me an advantage by helping me? We aren't on the same team, you know," Yugo pointed out.

"Maybe," Rin replied, "but it's the least I can do, and I already made you a riding suit!" She said cheerfully.

"Maybe we can share it…?" Yugo suggested.

"Nope!" Rin shot the idea down immediately.

"Huh? Why! You'd be allowed to use it since you helped to make it!" Yugo exclaimed.

"This isn't going to be my D-Wheel," Rin said as she looked him right in the eye, "It's going to be yours, and yours alone," she explained.

"Rin…" Yugo mumbled as she smiled at him.

"Fine, but on one condition!" Yugo said as he pointed at her, "Ditch the whole idea of this thing only being mine! This is going to be OUR D-Wheel, no question about it!" He declared.

Rin raised her eyebrows but smiled.

"Alright then, it's a deal!" She said with a smile.

* * *

"Shun, can I ask you for a favor?" Said Yuto.

Yuto was walking with Shun while Ruri went on ahead of them, and was currently getting all of them an ice-cream cone.

"What is it?" Shun asked.

"I… I need to get stronger," Yuto said firmly, "and I want you to teach me something," he said.

"And what, exactly, do you want me to teach you?" Shun asked.

"You do it all the time, it's the way you fight," Yuto explained, "I want you to teach me how to Rank-Up," he finished.

Shun raised an eyebrow, "Rank-Up?" He questioned, "Yuto, it's not easy to learn, you're only a first-year," he pointed out.

"I know, and I don't care," Yuto said firmly, "You're only a second-year, but you Rank-Up like it's second-nature to you," he pointed out.

"Well, you're not wrong," Shun admitted, "but it was different for me, you call it a special talent. I'm naturally suited to the Rank-Up process, which is why I can Rank-Up so many times in succession since not many people can do that," he explained.

"I don't have to be able to Rank-Up again and again," Yuto explained, "just one is fine, so can you teach me?" He asked.

"Here, you two! It's on me!" Ruri exclaimed as she ran over, a smile on her face as she held three ice-cream cones.

"Alright," Shun decided, "meet me at the roof tonight, we'll start then," Shun said as Ruri handed him a cone.

"What are you boys talking about?" Ruri questioned as she handed Yuto his cone.

"Don't worry about it," Shun said as he took an enormous bite out of his ice-cream.

"Brother! You're supposed to lick it, not swallow it whole!" Ruri scolded.

"Why not? I like eating it this way," Shun said calmly.

"If you're just going to eat it like that, tell me so I can get you a bowl instead of a cone!" Ruri pouted.

"But I like the waffle cone," Shun said calmly.

* * *

"I'm just saying, it could work!" Ruri said with a smile.

"No, there is no way I'm wearing something like that…" Yuzu said as she stared at the paper Ruri was holding up.

All of the girls were sitting in their room, along with Soul, who Ruri had dragged along because of his artistic talent.

After that, Ruri whispered something into his ear, and Soul replied to her, "Alright, give me a few minutes…"

About five to ten minutes later, Soul came back into the room, holding a piece of paper in his hand, a pen in the other.

Ruri took the paper and looked at it, and her face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Thanks, Soul!" Ruri said as she ran over to her sisters, giggling like mad.

She then showed what was drawn on the paper.

Serena remained without an opinion, her face remaining straight and emotionless.

Yuzu blushed, and Rin stared at Ruri with wide eyes.

"It'll be fun!" Ruri pouted.

"How would you even get something like that? It's way too detailed," Serena pointed out.

"That's where Rin and Soul get in!" Ruri said with a smile, "Rin is good at crafts and has an eye for intricate details, and Soul is probably the same!" She said with a smile.

"I don't usually make costumes, but I can…" Soul said with a yawn.

"No! No way! As if I could wear something like that in public!" Yuzu cried out.

"What, you wanna keep losing to Mieru?" Ruri said with a smirk.

"Wha…!? I'm not losing to her, I'm not even competing!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"Oh, so you're fine if she and Yuya become a couple?" Serena asked.

"Of course not—I mean, o-of course I am! I don't care who Yuya loves!" Yuzu stammered.

Everybody in the room stared directly at her, the room filled with a deafening silence.

"So… are you in denial now?" Serena broke the silence.

"If that's the case, how do you feel about this?" Soul asked as he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolding it and handing it to Yuzu.

It was a quick sketch, illustrating Yuya holding hands with Mieru.

Yuzu promptly ripped it to tiny shreds and tossed the shreds at Soul's face, his expression never changing even as some paper got close to his eyes.

Yuzu realized what she had done and immediately covered her face with her hands. "I-It's not what you think! I-It was just… the picture…!" She stammered desperately.

"Are you saying my art is bad enough that you had to rip it up the second you saw it?" Soul asked, his gaze icy and cold.

"N-No, it was good art, don't get me wrong, but… Yuya and Mieru!?" Yuzu exclaimed.

"So you do care?" Rin asked.

"Ughhh! Stop it already!" Yuzu whined as she covered her face, which was slowly growing redder.

"Listen, this will be great!" Ruri said excitedly, "Not only will it be a fun and unique experience, but we'll be able to encourage the boys in the best way possible!" Ruri exclaimed.

"Well, it'll either encourage them or distract them," Serena said bluntly.

"Come on! Just this once?" Ruri begged.

"I… I can't! Come on Rin! Say something!" Yuzu begged.

"I mean… It's a little embarrassing… but it's just one time, right?" Rin said sheepishly.

"Serena!" Yuzu cried out.

"What? Don't look at me, I don't care," she said bluntly.

"So we have two that are for it, one that doesn't care, and one against it!" Ruri exclaimed, "We have the majority!" Ruri declared.

"No! Everybody will be staring at us!" Yuzu protested.

"We'll get seats at the very front, that's where all of the people who do stuff like this are! People will hardly notice us!" Ruri said optimistically.

"No! They'll still look! I know it!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"Yuzu, think about what Yuya will think," Ruri whispered into Yuzu's ear, "Imagine it… he'll look at you, and I bet he'll say 'Wow, Yuzu! You look great!' right?" She said, imitating Yuya's voice.

Yuzu's face flushed. "I… I…" she stammered.

Ruri shot a look at Soul, who sighed as he got to his feet.

"Yuzu, I am going to give you a once-in-a-lifetime deal," Soul said as he twirled a pencil in his hand, "If you do this, I will draw you a fully-colored, high-quality image that only YOU will see… in any situation with Yuya that you want," He said calmly.

"W-What?" Yuzu asked, "W-Wait, why do you think I'd accept that!?" She exclaimed.

"Because I usually charge twenty dollars for each commission—by the way, Ruri, you owe me twenty bucks now—and I will make sure that while I have the image in my possession, the only people that will see it will be yours truly—since I'm the artist—and you…" Soul explained.

"T-That's…" Yuzu mumbled.

Serena sighed, "I'll throw in forty bucks…" she groaned.

And that, everybody, is how Yuzu ended up agreeing to whatever Ruri was planning.

"Oh, and keep this a secret!" Ruri hissed, "Including you, Soul! Don't tell a soul! No pun intended!" She said firmly.

"My lips are sealed," Soul said as he left the room.

"When are the boys fighting next?" Rin asked.

"Tomorrow… we won't have enough time to make these things by then, but we should be able to finish them in time for their final match!" Ruri said with a smile.

"That's assuming that they win," Serena pointed out.

"Well, maybe you should have a little faith then!" Ruri said with a pout.

* * *

Yuya, Yuri, and Yugo sat in the waiting room, and Yuya noticed Soul and Syrup waiting in the room as well.

"Ah, I forgot that you two had a match today as well," Yuya said as he walked over to them.

"Yup! Wish us luck, okay?" Syrup said optimistically.

Soul stared at her, "_She's planning something…" _he thought.

"_Eh, whatever…" _Soul thought as his eyelids drooped.

"Right! Good luck!" Yuya said with a smile.

"Right back at you!" Syrup said with a smile just as big.

"Too bright…" Soul muttered as he put his hoodie over his head, shielding his eyes from Yuya and Syrup's blinding and unending optimism and positive attitudes.

Yuto suddenly burst into the room, countless female cheers coming from behind him until he shut the door, gasping for air.

"What the hell was that?" Yuri asked as Yuto sat down.

"I have a Fanclub…" Yuto sighed.

"A Fanclub? I thought that was what Yuya had," Yugo said as he handed Yuto a bottle of water, which Yuto gratefully chugged down.

"No, Yuya has a _singular _fangirl," said Yuto, "Apparently, I've had a secret Fanclub since early in the year, and now that they have enough members… they've changed from being subtle to just chasing after me, screaming my name and begging me to date one of them," Yuto explained.

"But why do you even have a fanclub…?" Yuya asked, "We look almost the same…" he said.

"Apparently being 'mature' and knowing how to cook makes you husband material… which confuses me to no end," Yuto sighed.

"I mean, girls like a guy who can cook, you know," Syrup pointed out.

"What a pain…" Yuto groaned.

"Man, it must suck to be you…" Soul muttered.

"Not helping…" Yuto said coldly.

"Come on, get yourself together," Yuri said as he leaned against the wall, "We're gonna be going out there soon, and if you're off your game, I'm not carrying any of you!" He declared.

* * *

"I plan to use my Blade-Messiah's, okay?" Soul said as the brothers started to depart for their match, "Everybody's seen them, so there's no point in not using them anymore…" he sighed.

Syrup nodded.

Soul raised an eyebrow at Syrup's lackluster reply but ultimately brushed it off.

He took his hands out of his hoodie pockets, they were visibly shaking from the cold, but nobody else seemed to feel any cold.

The side effects were worsening.

He sighed and pulled out a pair of gloves from his bag, pulling them over his freezing hands and promptly putting his hands under him so he could sit on them, which was an effective method of warming up.

Syrup cast a worried glance at him as he warmed his hands.

"After this… I'll have to tell them so they can help…" Syrup muttered, "but for that to happen, they need to win…"

* * *

"Rin, are you okay?" Sora asked.

Rin had bags under her eyes, and her hair was an absolute mess, but nobody would be able to tell thanks to the white beanie that she had shoved over her disgruntled hair.

"Yeah, why?" Rin replied.

"She was up all night, don't question it any further," Serena deadpanned.

Rin had indeed been up all night, multitasking two different jobs.

The first job: Programming the D-Wheel's interface.

Rin had to program the technology that would be at the front of the D-Wheel, as well as the display screen that displayed various information while using the vehicle, as well as connecting that same interface to the helmet that she and Yugo bought and customized.

Not only that but since neither Rin nor Yugo could bear to do anything halfway, the completed design of the machine (drawn up by Soul for fifteen dollars) had a large number of lights going around the design and even the wheels.

All in all, there were a LOT of steps that needed to be taken, and Rin was doing quite a lot of the technology-focused work.

The second job: Making the "surprise"

While Rin was typing various lines of code on a computer connected to a strange rectangular device, she also had to help Soul with Ruri's "surprise"

And no, she couldn't ask for help from Soul, because he was already doing most of the work anyways, including but not limited to:

All of the paper-mache work

At least half of the paint-work

Making all of the paper-mache look good, and not just like, well, paper-mache

Adding the intricate designs on anything that isn't on the actual-clothing parts

Making sure that the whole design wouldn't just fall apart

To put it simply, they were working on a cosplay, and a high-quality one at that, with only two people and not even a month to finish.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Rin now lived off of coffee and energy drinks, and Soul… surprisingly enough, he was not falling asleep as one would expect.

Instead, the problem was that he was now completely ignoring his fatigue, and the quality of his work was now being compromised.

So now, they had to FORCE him to sleep.

It was like hell hath frozen over.

Either way, Rin was on her last legs.

"Rin, I think you need to sleep…" Ruri said softly.

"No… sleep is for the weak!" Rin declared.

"Sleep is what you need right now, now shhh_…" _Ruri said softly as she held Rin's head against her chest.

"No… I'm fine…" Rin muttered as her eyelids began to flutter and close.

After about two minutes of Ruri rubbing Rin's head and gently shushing her, the girl promptly fell into the clutches of sleep.

Ruri shifted her body to allow Rin to rest her head on her shoulder, and Sora promptly took a picture.

"That's wholesome…" Sora muttered as he looked at the picture before putting his phone away.

"One must always remember to rest the body…" Gongenzaka said approvingly.

"Maybe we should help her out next time" Yuzu suggested.

"I don't think Serena should be allowed close to it during the manufacturing process, it's pretty delicate, after all," Ruri sighed, "Sorry, Serena…" she said solemnly.

"Don't be sorry, I know what I'm capable of," Serena waved her off, "I know that I'll probably spill something on something important," she stated bluntly.

"What about you, Ruri?" Yuzu asked.

"I get nervous when it comes to arts and crafts," Ruri sighed, "My hands start shaking, and then I usually end up messing something up," she explained.

"Oh… I have the same problem…" Yuzu sighed.

"By the way, will our brother be fine with this?" Serena asked.

"Well… we'll cross that bridge when we come to it…" Ruri said quietly.

Meanwhile, Shun let loose a loud sneeze.

"Tch, damn allergies…" he grumbled.

**End**

* * *

_Bonus Scene!_

* * *

"Yuya, I can't believe that you're the one who suggested this…" said Yuri as he crouched down behind Yuya, sneaking behind him as Yuya moved quietly to the door that connected the boys' room to the girls' room.

Normally, since Yuri was usually the one instigating these things, Yuto would have stepped in.

But the initial shock that this was Yuya's idea had frozen him in place, and he was now watching intently.

Yugo, meanwhile, took out a camera.

The girls were chatting in the other room, and the door between the rooms was slightly open, just enough so that a large water balloon could sit on top of it.

Now they just had to be quiet.

Yuri now had Yuya on his shoulders while Yuri stood on top of a stool.

Yuya was ever-so-carefully placing a red water balloon that was the size of his head on top of the door.

The balloon was almost ready to burst, so if it fell, it would burst the second it collided with something.

Yuya carefully took his hands off of the balloon, grinning as the water-nuke sat perfectly, yet dangerously, on the door.

"Alright, bring me down…" Yuya whispered.

"On it… w-whoa…!" Yuri hissed as he felt himself wobble.

Yugo gasped as they began to lean backward…

Suddenly, Yuto was behind them, propping Yuri up.

"One time…" Yuto sighed, "one time only…!" He hissed as he helped Yuri down from the stool.

"Alright, so now what?" Yuri asked, "It's a simple plan, but are we seriously just going to wait for any of them to walk through?" He asked.

"No," Yuya snickered, "listen up, here's what I need you guys to do…" Yuya huddled them in and began to whisper.

Yugo continued to record the entire ordeal, his jaw on the verge of falling off and hitting the floor.

…

It was a simple day, that's all it was.

Yuzu had woken up without a care in the world, her hair (surprisingly enough) wasn't messy at all when she woke up, and the breakfast today was delicious.

And then, suddenly…

_***CRASH!***_

Yuzu and her sisters each jumped as a ridiculously loud crashing noise reverberated through the room, sounding like a combination of multiple plates breaking, glass shattering, and a bookshelf falling.

Which was immediately followed by: "Oh shit, Yuya!"

Yuzu immediately got to her feet and ran towards the boys' room, "Yuya! Are you okay—"

She shoved the door open, and time seemed to slow down.

Inside the room, there was:

Yuya, who was sitting on the ground, a wide grin stretching across his face.

Yuri, who's eyes had enlarged to the size of dinner plates.

Yugo, who had a camera out and was supposedly recording everything.

Yuto, who's jaw had dropped.

And a large speaker connected to Yuya's phone, his phone displaying the words " 3"

She suddenly felt something heavy fall on her head, and stay there.

It was… bouncy, wet, and cold…?

Yuya's face paled, Yuri took a double-take, Yugo dropped the camera, and Yuto's eyes widened.

She slowly raised her arms to her head and removed the object from the perfect balance it had achieved on her head.

"A water balloon…" Yuzu muttered as she stared at the larger-than-average water balloon.

"I would like to quickly point out that, despite what you may think, this wasn't my idea," Yuri said immediately.

"He always takes credit for his work, so he speaks the truth," Serena said bluntly from behind Yuzu.

Yuzu's face slowly contorted into a glare, and all of the boys in the room flinched or took a step back.

"Who…" Yuzu growled.

The room remained silent, none of the brothers speaking.

"You aren't ratting out the culprit, eh?" Yuzu said as her glare turned into a terrifying grin, "In that case, I guess this was the work of everybody in the room, isn't it?" She said in a sickly-sweet tone.

Immediately, all three brothers pointed at Yuya.

"W-Wait, what!?" Yuya exclaimed.

"Trust me, the pain is shockingly high at first, but you get used to it…" Yugo whispered as he quickly left the room.

"We'll see you later if you survive…" Yuto said as he followed Yugo.

"If it makes you feel any better, the fact that the balloon didn't burst is bullshit," Yuri said as he slowly opened the glass sliding door that led to the balcony, "but regardless, I promise to recover whatever is left of you after… well…" Yuri said as he quickly exited into the balcony, shutting the glass-sliding door and quickly dashing to the side, hiding.

The sound of sharp cracks began to resonate through the room, and Yuya looked back at Yuzu in fear.

She was slowly walking over to him, smacking her paper fan into the palm of her hand menacingly as she cracked her neck.

Yuya looked over to the girls behind her for help.

Instead, they slowly closed the door, leaving Yuya to fend for himself.

"Y-Yuzu, we can talk about this, r-right?" Yuya said as he slowly walked backward, away from the girl who was slowly approaching him.

"Sure, Yuya!" Yuzu said as her glare turned into a beaming smile, which was even more terrifying when you combine it with the dark and menacing aura surrounding her. "You can tell me _all _about it after I finish ending your life!" She said cheerfully, her grip on the paper fan tightening.

"N-No, please!" Yuya begged.

Yuya's screams echoed through the room and even a fair portion of the hotel.

Shun, who had been coming over to visit his sisters, raised an eyebrow in concern as Yuya's screams reached his ears, even though he stood outside of the room.

"I… I think I'll visit them later…" Shun said as he quickly walked away, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face as he made the tactical decision to not enter that battlefield.

Even as he walked away, he could hear the screams.

"No, please! Wait… no! Yuzu put the chair down! AAAAAAAAAAGH!"

_The End_

**I have had too much free time since the last chapter…**

**Anyways, I'm sorry if this upsets some of you, but a relationship with Yugo and Rin isn't happening since Rin isn't ready for something like that yet.**

**I might just enjoy torturing viewers, who knows?**

**Anyways, to answer the three people who messaged me about when the next chapter is coming out, here it is, and a chapter is published when it is FREAKING FINISHED.**

**I do NOT have a schedule, I work on my fanfictions in my free time, meaning that the amount of work I get done depends entirely on how much time I have that I would usually waste, and whether or not the writer's block has come up and punched me in the gut or not.**

**So, I would like to kindly ask that I stop receiving messages about when the next chapter is set to come out, because there is no set date, it comes out immediately after I finish it, and you have NO idea how many times I just delete everything in a document and start over because I f—ked up a plot-point.**

**But on the bright side, if it weren't for all of you readers leaving reviews, I might not have been able to keep going.**

**Alright, now that that's out of my system…**

**New Odd-Eyes support! Empyrean Magician is useful, and Pendulum Dimension made it so much easier to chain multiple extra-deck summons, so much so that it became possible to have Z-ARC in the deck as an emergency boss-monster, though my deck doesn't revolve around summoning him.**


	18. Chapter 18: Fire Spreads Quickly

**Chapter 18: Fire Spreads Quickly**

"Wow, they really are identical…" Yuya said as he stared at their opponents.

"The Amazon Sisters, huh?" Yuto said as he eyed them.

Facing the quadruplets, were twins. One had blonde hair while the other had silver hair, which turned out to be the easiest way to identify them from each other.

"So, you four are the boys that the headmaster has his eyes on…?" The silver-haired one, Grace, asked.

"Huh? What does that mean?" Yuya asked.

"Well—" Grace started to speak before she was cut off by her sister, Gloria.

"That doesn't matter," she said harshly, shooting a look at Grace, who smiled sheepishly as she backed off.

"They're strange…" Yugo whispered.

"You're one to talk, Fusion," Yuri whispered back.

"Same to you, and my name is Yugo you ass!" Yugo hissed.

Meanwhile, the sisters began to whisper amongst themselves. "So, our orders are to crush them?" Grace asked.

"We were told to spare no effort in attempting to crush them, so basically, we have to crush them beneath our heels," Gloria replied with a grin.

"Ooh! Yay!" Grace said excitedly, "Does that mean we can go all-out?" She asked.

"Definitely," Gloria said with a grin, "Let's grab the boy in white. That dragon he showed off during their last match is pretty fast…" she said as they began to formulate their plan.

"Now then! Will the Amazon Sisters please select a stage for this battle?" Nico's voice boomed throughout the entire arena.

"We're never gonna get to select a field, will we?" Yuya sighed.

"Well, we ARE a team of four people," Yuto pointed out.

Suddenly, the field began to glow and change.

"They picked something already…?" Yuri said out loud.

"We already knew which field would suit us the best," Grace said confidently as each team began to move further away from each other, "sorry boys, but you don't even have a sliver of a chance now!" She declared.

Large trees were now rising from the ground, covering the entire arena, and almost blotting out the sky above the boys.

"What the heck!? We're in…" Yugo exclaimed.

"It's a jungle…" Yuri muttered, "this might be a problem…" he said as he clicked his tongue.

The entire arena was covered in lush greenery, and the audience couldn't even see the duelists inside the arena anymore.

The crowd immediately started to get riled up.

"_Hey, we can't see anything!"_

"_What the heck, what kind of stage is this?"_

"_What's going to happen now?"_

"Relax, everybody!" Melissa suddenly declared, "We will be providing a live feed from inside the arena, so even though you might not be able to see them in those trees, you'll be sure to see the action!" She exclaimed.

Holographic screens popped up in front of the spectator seats, showcasing multiple cameras broadcasting live footage on both teams.

"The teams will be unable to hear our commentary, but rest assured, we'll make sure that this intense battle is shown, no matter what the cost!" Nico declared.

Yugo looked frustrated, "Argh! I can't see their crystal anymore!" He yelled.

It was true, the lush greenery had completely obscured their view, and the other team was nowhere to be seen.

"Ugh, fine!" Yugo yelled, "I'll blow past all of these trees and hit their crystal with Crystal Wing!" Yugo declared.

"Yugo, wait!" Yuto exclaimed, "They picked this stage for a reason! Don't just charge in blindly!" He yelled.

"It'll be fine! I'll be too fast for them to do anything anyway!" Yugo said confidently.

"No, you should leave it to me," Yuri said calmly, "With my monsters, I can blend into the surroundings better and attack them while they're off-guard," he explained.

"Oh, shut up!" Yugo yelled, "Just watch! I'll take them down the second the match starts!" Yugo declared.

"Yugo, maybe you should listen…" Yuya tried to speak up.

_**DUEL!**_

The word that signaled the start of the match rang in their ears, and Yugo immediately began to transform.

"Strike them down in an instant! Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!" Yugo yelled.

In a flash of white light, the large dragon appeared with an enormous roar, immediately dashing forward at full speed.

There was a tree in the way, but Yugo didn't slow down.

"_As if a tree will be enough to stop me!" _Yugo thought as he charged straight forward.

To Yugo's surprise, however, he collided with a tree and _bounced _off.

"Huh!?" Yugo exclaimed as he quickly regained his balance.

"Damn, I bet this is a gimmick that comes with the field," Yuri growled, "The trees must be incredibly tough… we won't be able to just knock them all down," he said as he knocked his hand against one of the trees.

Sure enough, despite the bark's wood-like texture, it felt like he was knocking his hand against diamonds.

"Fine! I'll just go above them, then!" Yugo declared as he flew straight up.

He immediately burst from the jungle at the top, where the spectators could now see him in the sky.

"If our crystal is here… then their crystal… should be there!" Yugo declared as he flew at the other side of the arena, wind covering his body.

"Crystallos Edge of the Gale!" Yugo declared as he crashed through the leaves that covered the top of the jungle and vanished into the greenery.

The sound of something shattering filled the arena.

"Did… he do it?" Yuya asked.

But ten seconds passed, and the field was still active, and the duel was still running.

"Crap… what happened…?" Yuto muttered.

"The idiot obviously fucked it up…" Yuri groaned.

"Wait, do you guys hear that?" Yuya spoke up.

Everybody went silent.

The sound of roars was faint, along with the sound of metal clashing against metal.

The noise was getting louder… meaning that it was getting closer.

"Everybody, be on guard!" Yuto yelled.

Each of the brothers transformed.

"Come! Break Sword!" Yuto yelled.

"Devour everything! Starving Venom!" Yuri declared.

"Come! Odd-Eyes!" Yuya exclaimed.

Each of the brothers appeared as their respective monsters in a flash of multicolored light, Yuto standing in the front as The Phantom Knights of Break Sword, Starving Venom and Odd-Eyes standing protectively around the crystal.

Suddenly, Yugo as Crystal Wing burst through the trees, a long purple chain wrapped around him, and a dark-skinned female warrior riding on his back, tugging at the chains as Yugo roared and thrashed.

"Get off me!" Yugo yelled as he rammed himself into one of the trees in an attempt to shake the girl off of him.

"That's…!" Yuto gasped.

Ridin on top of Yugo was Gloria, transformed into Amazoness Empress, a sword hanging on her back as she tugged at the chains that were binding Yugo.

"Yugo! What the hell are you doing!?" Yuri yelled.

"I don't know!" Yugo roared, "I can't control my movements properly!" He yelled.

"Be a good boy… and sit down!" Gloria yelled as she stomped her foot down on Yugo's back, sending them both flying to the ground, where Yugo crashed into the dirt with a loud crash.

"Ow…" Yugo groaned.

"As of now, you're under my command!" Gloria declared as Yugo's body glowed with a sinister purple aura.

"Huh? As if!" Yugo yelled as he attempted to shake her off again.

Gloria squeezed the chain, and Yugo's body suddenly stiffened up.

"W-What the… I can't move…!" Yugo grunted.

"Hurry up and take off your transformation, Fusion!" Yuri yelled.

"I-I can't! I'm trying!" Yugo yelled back, "And my name is Yugo, damn it!" He quickly added.

"Now is not the time for that old gag!" Yuya yelled, "We have to help him!" He exclaimed.

"On it!" Yuto said as he charged forward, his broken sword held high.

"Not on my watch!" Gloria declared as she yanked at the chain.

Suddenly, Yugo swung his tail and smacked Yuto away from him, sending Yuto flying into a tree.

"Agh… what the hell, Yugo!" Yuto yelled angrily.

"I-I don't know!" Yugo yelled, "T-That wasn't me! I couldn't control my body!" He yelled in a panic.

"Is she controlling him…?" Yuya asked.

"Of course Yugo is the one who starts following every single command a girl gives him…!" Yuri cursed.

"Hey! I'm being controlled, but I can still hear you, asshat!" Yugo snapped.

"Yuya! Take the crystal and get out of here! We'll handle Yugo!" Yuto yelled as he transformed into Dark Rebellion.

"As if I'm just going to let you get away!" Gloria declared.

Yugo suddenly shot forward, flying full-speed at the crystal.

Suddenly, Yuri was in front of him, catching Yugo and clashing with the dragon, holding Yugo in place.

"Tch… you're too fast for your own good…!" Yuri grunted as his wings extended and clamped down on Yugo, helping Yuri to hold him in place.

"Lightning Strike Disobey!" Yuto yelled as he charged at Gloria, electricity crackling around him.

Gloria drew her own sword and clashed with Yuto, blocking the attack while she had Yugo struggle against Yuri.

"Go!" Yuri yelled, "This bastard is too fast, we can't fight while protecting that damn thing!" Yuri yelled.

"R-Right!" Yuya yelled, "Timegazer! Stargazer!" He declared.

His two magicians promptly appeared and grabbed the crystal, quickly flying alongside Yuya as he ran with the crystal carried behind him.

"Heh, it's too bad that I can't be the one to destroy that crystal," Gloria smirked, "but against my sister, he doesn't stand a chance!" She declared.

"_Shit, I forgot that there was another…!" _Yuri mentally cursed.

"_It'll be fine, Yuya can handle it, I know he can…!" _Yuto thought as Yuya got further away.

* * *

Syrup was quickly running back to the waiting room after leaving to get something for Soul to eat after she found out that he hadn't had breakfast yet.

"Sheesh… even now, he still forgets the simplest of things…" Syrup muttered as she reached the entrance to the room.

"Hah… I made it," Syrup sighed as she wiped some sweat off of her forehead.

"Um… miss?"

Syrup looked down to see a small girl tugging at her skirt and looking up at her.

"Hm? What is it…?" Syrup asked as she looked down at the small girl.

"Um… can I get… can I get a picture…?" The girl said nervously.

"Huh?" Syrup tilted her head.

Suddenly, a woman ran up to her and the girl, and Syrup assumed that she was the girl's mother.

"I'm sorry, I took my eyes off for a second…" the woman apologized profusely.

"Oh! Don't apologize, it was fine!" Syrup said quickly.

"Mommy… can I get a picture with her…?" The girl asked.

"_A picture of… me?" _Syrup thought.

Then she remembered her head-accessory.

It was a green headband with leaf-like ears at the top, and to a young child, it wasn't exactly impossible that a girl would see her as some kind of mascot. On top of that, she was a duelist after all, so perhaps she had a fan?

"Oh, is it okay with you?" The mother asked.

"Oh, of course!" Syrup said happily.

One picture later, and the small girl had a wide smile on her face as she stared at the photo on her mother's phone.

"Thank you so much for your time!" The mother said as she picked her daughter up, "Where did you get that accessory, by the way? It looks so real!" She said with a smile.

"Well, um… sorry, somebody else gave it to me, so I don't know where it was bought," Syrup said as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Aw, too bad," The mother sighed, "but thank you anyway! Have a nice day!" The mother said before walking away.

Syrup sighed, "They look real, huh?" Syrup sighed.

How ironic.

* * *

"If I can find the crystal I can end this… but I have to protect this thing as well…!" Yuya grunted as he weaved around the trees.

Yuya quickly skidded to a halt so he could catch his breath, "Alright, I should be far enough now…" Yuya sighed.

Although, on the other hand, he was also lost.

"The trees are really tough, right…?" Yuya wondered out loud, "What if I set fire to it…?" He wondered.

He quickly decided against it, since there was no guarantee it would really damage the incredibly durable trees, and a forest fire was not only ill-advised but a bad idea in general.

Unbeknownst to Yuya, a single red eye was watching him from the shadows.

Yuya felt a chill run down his spine, and he quickly looked around at his surroundings.

He couldn't see anything except more and more trees… but what was this eerie feeling?

Suddenly, as his back was turned, something leaped from the shadows at the crystal behind him.

Yuya quickly turned around, but it was too late.

The form of Grace's ace, Amazoness Pet Liger, was about to slash at the crystal.

"Stargazer!" Yuya yelled.

The white-robed magician quickly moved to defend, but the beast simply blew the magician way with a powerful swipe with its claws, and it was about to do the same to the crystal.

"Timegazer!" Yuya yelled as the claws slashed at the crystal, the crystal starting to crack.

A large gear extended around Timegazer's body, and an image of a clock-hand moving counterclockwise appeared as purple energy flowed around the gear.

"Time Reversal!" Yuya declared.

Suddenly, the world began to move backward, Stargazer reappearing while Grace moved back towards the area where she had jumped at Yuya.

"W-What the!?" Grace exclaimed.

"_She's close to Timegazer, so she'll be aware of time reversing…" _Yuya thought, "_But it'll still give me an opening!"_

The crystal had promptly repaired, the pieces moving back into place and re-attaching to the main body.

Time began to flow normally again, and Yuya immediately jumped and turned around, fire forming in his mouth.

"**Spiral Strike Burst!" **He yelled as he shot a spiraling stream of flames at Grace's position.

Grace quickly jumped out of the way, but the flames brushed against Liger's back-leg and she had to quickly return to hiding.

The fire, meanwhile, struck a nearby tree.

The tree IMMEDIATELY caught fire, and the entire tree was now covered in flames.

"Ah! It does catch fire!" Yuya panicked.

And to make things worse, the fire was quickly beginning to spread.

…

"Oh no! It looks this match is about to heat up, literally!" Nico declared.

"Let this be a lesson to the kids watching, don't start fires, kids!" Melissa declared with a cheery tone.

"Hey, isn't this bad?" Serena asked.

"The fact that Yuya is burning down a rainforest, or the fact that this entire jungle is about to become a giant flaming death-trap?" Sora asked.

"Both, obviously!" Yuzu panicked.

"Oh, well then yeah, it's pretty bad," Sora said bluntly.

"The fire is just going to spread from there, and though it isn't really smoke, the air will become harder to breathe," Gongenzaka explained.

"What do you mean, it isn't really smoke?" Rin asked.

"The air is simply being affected by the Real-Solid Vision technology, which I'm sure is set so that it doesn't kill you," Sora explained, "The smoke that they'll breathe in won't be real smoke, but the air will be thicker and harder to take in," he explained.

…

Yuya was quickly running away from the flames, his eyes darting around in a panic.

"_If the other sister is fighting me… then that means that they left their crystal undefended!" _Yuya thought as he weaved between the trees, "_If I can find it, then we can win…!" _he thought as he looked around for wherever the crystal could be.

"Trying to run? As if I'd let you!" Grace yelled as she lunged at him from the shadows again.

Yuya was ready this time and quickly reacted by turning around and swinging his tail and smacking her away before she reached the crystal.

Yuya attempted to attack again, but she had already leaped back into the shadows.

"This is bad… I'm out of my element…" Yuya muttered as he took a step back before continuing to run.

And to make things worse, he could still smell smoke from where he had basically started a forest fire (Smokey The Bear would be so disappointed).

Transforming into Rune-Eyes was something that Yuya decided not to do. This was because Rune-Eyes was slightly bigger and clunkier, and not to mention slower.

Meanwhile, his brothers were having a tough time as well.

Gloria was darting around the area, riding on Yugo's back and striking Yuto and Yuri before quickly retreating, and then repeating the process.

"Treason Discharge!" Yuto yelled as electricity flew from his wings to wrap around Yugo, only for Yugo to fly out of the way in an instant.

Yugo ended up flying into Yuri, who wrapped his arms and wings around Yugo and holding tight.

"Quit moving, you annoying bastard…!" Yuri said with a grin.

"Crap…!" Gloria cursed as she drew her blade to strike at Yuri.

"Quit being a fucking dead-weight! Fusion!" Yuri yelled as he reared his head and brought his head down, headbutting Yugo square in his forehead.

Yugo flew backward in a daze, Yuri doing the same.

"Don't waste this chance…!" Yuri hissed at Yuto.

"Yeah!" Yuto yelled as electricity crackled violently around him, even causing the air around him to look distorted and blurry. "**CRUSH THOSE CRYSTALS WITH YOUR FANGS! REVOLT OF THE LIGHTNING, DISOBEY!" **He yelled as he charged forward and drove his fang right into Yugo.

Electricity flew through the air, both dragons roaring as Yuto's attack was received in full by Yugo.

"Agh…!" Yugo coughed as the chains that wrapped around him were shattered, his body glowing white as he reverted to his human form.

"Hah! Congratulations, you took down your own brother!" Gloria taunted.

Yuto's eyes flashed, and the electricity never vanished from his glowing fang.

Gloria's eyes widened as he continued to charge, aiming at her this time.

"Be struck down!" Yuto yelled, "**Revolt of the Lighting, Disobey!" **He yelled.

Yuto's fang clashed against Gloria's sword, which caused electricity to rapidly spread out and strike Gloria as she fought against Dark Rebellion.

The sword shattered, and with a massive roar, Yuto's attack pierced her defenses and struck true.

"AAAAAAAGH!" Gloria yelled as Yuto rammed her into a nearby tree, knocking them both to the ground. Dark Rebellion landed on his feet, while Gloria quickly grabbed a branch on the tree and swung forward, leaping away from the brothers.

"You won't get away!" Yuto yelled as he flew after her.

"Fine, just leave the idiot to me…" Yuri grumbled as he rubbed his forehead tenderly.

Yuto weaved between the trees, electricity sparking violently around the fangs on his chin and arms, as well as his wings.

"**Revolt of the Lightning! Disobey!" **Yuto yelled as he lunged forward.

"Getting a little predictable, aren't we?" Gloria taunted as she leaped from tree to tree, dodging Yuto's attack with ease.

"_TREASON DISCHARGE!" _Yuto yelled as electricity shot from his wings toward Gloria.

"Oop! That was close!" Gloria said confidently as she jumped away from the electricity and continued to jump to different trees again and again.

"Stay still!" Yuto yelled as he swung his tail at her, missing and hitting a tree instead.

"What, getting annoyed?" Gloria taunted.

Yuto reared his head, and with a powerful roar, let loose a breath attack of blue energy from his mouth, turning his head and sending the attack in every direction as he rotated.

"Getting frustrated?" Gloria taunted as she dodged the attack with ease.

"I'm just getting started!" Yuto yelled, "**Follow and pierce! Revolt of the Lightning! Disobey!" **Yuto yelled as he charged at Gloria again.

"Again? You do know what the definition of insanity is, right?" Gloria taunted as she jumped away.

But to her surprise, Yuto turned and faced her as he moved, continuing to follow her.

"…!" Gloria gasped as she quickly jumped to another tree.

Yuto continued to follow her, not once turning his fang away from her direction.

"What the… I thought you could only go in a straight line…!" Gloria cursed as she continued to run.

"This is for Yugo!" Yuto yelled as he sped up and continued to follow Gloria like a homing missile, dodging the trees and slowly decreasing the distance between them.

"Tch… eat wood!" Gloria cursed as she swung her body around and took cover behind one of the trees.

"_These trees are ridiculously tough… the synchro kid couldn't break past them, so neither will you!" _Gloria thought confidently.

Yuto's fang struck the tree, and electricity flew violently from the area where his fang pierced the wood.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Yuto yelled as electricity spun around his wings, the purple gems glowing brighter than ever before.

"PIERCE THROUGH!" Yuto yelled, "DARK REBELLION!"

In a single instant, his fang pierced the bark of the tree, and the entire thing burst into splinters.

"What!?" Gloria exclaimed.

"For my brothers, nothing will stop me!" Yuto yelled, "DISOBEY!"

His attack struck true, and Gloria couldn't react fast enough to block the move.

"This power… are you seriously just a bunch of first-years!?" Gloria yelled.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Yuto screamed as he rammer into her, crashing her into, and breaking through, another tree before aiming them toward the ground and crashing her into the ground.

A flash of purple and Gloria was back to normal as Yuto stood over her as Dark Rebellion.

Yuto reared his head and let loose a powerful roar into the sky, confirming his victory.

His celebration was interrupted, however, when his nose suddenly twitched.

"Huh…? Why do I smell smoke?" He said out loud.

Meanwhile…

"**SPIRAL FLAME STRIKE!" **

Yuya was rotating in a circle, letting loose a large stream of spiraling flame in his attempt to defeat Grace.

And now, the entire area around him was on fire.

The fire was beginning to reach Yugo and Yuri, and Yuri was waving the air in front of his face in annoyance.

"What the hell? Who went ahead and started a forest fire!?" Yuri hissed.

"Damn it… I went overboard…!" Yuya grunted as one of the trees began to topple and fell near him.

"You're mine!" Grace yelled as she leaped at him from the flames.

"Beast-Eyes!" Yuya yelled as a purple light covered him as he moved to block Grace's attack.

The two beasts clashed heads, and Grace jumped backward as Beast-Eyes stared her down.

"Hell-Dive Burst!" Yuya yelled as a blast of fire that took the shape of Beast-Eyes' head at Grace.

Grace quickly jumped away from the attack, which hit the ground and burst into flames (making the fire even worse).

"Dang it, where the heck are you, sis!?" Grace yelled as she tried to avoid the ever-increasing wall of flames.

Yuya coughed as the flames increased in intensity, "Ack… I wish I had more strong attacks that didn't involve fire…!" Yuya coughed.

"That's it! Screw the plan! I'm out of here!" Grace yelled as she attempted to run.

"Hey! Watch out!" Yuya yelled.

"Huh?" Grace said as she looked up.

One of the flaming trees was now falling on top of her.

"Oh crap…!" Grace exclaimed as she saw the pillar of wood descend at a speed faster than she could dodge.

A loud crash reverberated through the arena as the tree supposedly hit the ground.

Grace had, in her shock, ended up reverting back to her normal form.

Yuya stood above her as Odd-Eyes, the tree having struck him square on his back. Though his legs were shaking, he was still standing straight up.

"A-Are you okay…!?" He panted.

"Wha… why…?" Grace gasped, "I'm your enemy! It would've been better if you had just let the tree fall on me…!" She said with wide eyes.

"I… I did it without thinking," Yuya gasped as he struggled to keep standing, the burning tree having damaged his back quite heavily. "I saw that you were in trouble… and I can't just stay still when somebody is in danger in front of me…!" He grunted.

"But…" Grace muttered, but her voice trailed off.

Yuya grunted as he tried to lift himself up and push the tree off of him, but the second he did, a sharp jolt of pain shot from his spine and through the rest of his body.

"Agh…!" Yuya gasped as he staggered but quickly caught himself before he crushed Grace under him.

"A-Are you okay!?" Grace exclaimed.

"I-I'm fine…!" Yuya gasped, "This tree is just… surprisingly heavy… and my back is killing me…!" He explained.

"_Crap… I can't stand up… and Grace is pinned underneath me…!" _Yuya mentally cursed.

Grace, meanwhile, could feel her face heating up. "_My face is burning up… is it because of the fire…?" _She thought as her cheeks pinkened.

Yuya turned his attention toward the crystal. Timegazer and Stargazer floated around it and had conjured up a barrier that was protecting it from the flames, but it certainly wouldn't last if a tree like the one on top of Yuya were to fall on it.

On top of that, the flames that covered the tree that had just-about crushed Yuya was beginning to burn through the scales on his back, and he could slowly feel the temperature on his back rising.

"Break… out…!" Yuya grunted as he tried to stand again, causing the pain on his back to spike.

"Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!"

Yuya suddenly felt the weight leave his back as Yugo, transformed into Clear Wing, crashed into it from the side and knocked it off of him.

"AGH, DAMN THIS SMOKE! I CAN'T SEE A THING!" Yugo yelled in frustration, "I had to deal with being chained up and then headbutted by Yuri! Can this match just end already, damn it!" He yelled.

"Yugo! You're okay!" Yuya exclaimed.

"Yuya!" Yugo exclaimed, "You're okay! And… you've pinned the white-haired girl under you…" Yugo's voice trailed off.

"She was about to be crushed!" Yuya exclaimed.

"She would've been fine, and if she's fine, then she could easily handle you after taking a hit for her," Yuri said as he entered the area. "And why the hell is this place on fire!?" He yelled.

"Yuya, that attack was almost all of whatever energy I had left…" Yugo said as he hovered next to the crystal, "But I saw where they had their crystal! They were burying it underground!" He exclaimed.

"Alright! Where is it?" Yuya said as he got to his feet, Yuri immediately flying over as Starving Venom and standing menacingly over Grace, who was seemingly in a trance, staring at Yuya.

"Over that way!" Yugo yelled, pointing at the direction to his right, "I'll send a beam in that direction, so just follow it and shoot attacks at the ground like crazy! Me and Yuri will keep this thing safe," Yugo explained.

"Wait, Yuya is injured, I should go…" Yuri started to speak up.

"That's a bad idea, this whole burning-forest situation is a bad matchup for you," Yuto said as he suddenly joined the group, landing on the ground with a thud.

"Then you should go, right?" Yugo asked.

"No, I used up all of my stamina… and the air is getting harder and harder to breathe," Yuto explained, "Yuya, do you think you can do this?" He asked.

Yuya winced as he got to his feet, his back screaming at him to stop moving. "Of course…!" He declared.

"Alright, then go!" Yuto yelled.

"Dichroic Mirror!" Yugo immediately yelled, his wings glowing green as he fired a large stream of light in the direction where the crystal apparently was.

"Alright…!" Yuya said as he dashed in the same direction, ignoring the pain in his back.

Yugo gasped for air, "Alright… that was the last of whatever energy I had…!" Yugo wheezed.

"Just protect the crystal! Yuya will do it for sure!" Yuto said as he and Yugo circled the crystal, along with Timegazer and Stargazer.

"Crap… I'm stuck doing nothing again…!" Yuri hissed under his breath.

Gloria, meanwhile, had hardly noticed any of the events that had transpired. "It's… just the heat…" she mumbled as her face remained pink.

"And this chick is just sitting here in a trance or something…!" Yuri groaned.

"Rune-Eyes! Unending Shiny Burst!" Yuya yelled as he transformed into the fusion monster and began to fire countless beams of light at the ground as he ran through the forest.

Eventually, he finally found what he was looking for.

He skidded to a halt as one of the beams struck the ground and uncovered the crystal, which was gleaming brightly as flames licked the background.

"Alright! Beast-Eyes!" Yuya yelled as he jumped into the air, switching to Beast-Eyes as fire began to form in the blue crystal on his chest. "Helldive Burst!" He yelled as he fired a large burst of flames at the crystal, taking the shape of Beast-Eyes' head.

"I won't let you!"

Yuya's eyes widened as Gloria, transformed into Amazoness Empress, jumped out from the burning trees and deflected the attack with her sword.

"That Xyz kid really had me on my toes… but he didn't make sure that the job was done…!" Gloria gasped as she stood in front of the crystal defensively.

"Hey! Come on! Look around you!" Yuya yelled, "Everything is on fire! We need to end this match!" Yuya exclaimed.

"Then destroy your own crystal!" Gloria yelled back, "But no matter what… we will not lose! We will win and bring glory to Academia!" She yelled.

"T-That's some impressive school-spirit…" Yuya mumbled.

"I'll chain you up and use you to attack your brothers!" Gloria declared, "I can still win this… with everybody as worn-down as they are… you'll do fine, even if you're injured!" She declared.

"So that was your ability…" Yuya said as he took a step back, the pain in his back starting to kick into high gear.

"Now, come on!" Gloria yelled as she thrust her hand forward, purple chains suddenly shooting from a glowing spot in her palm and flying toward Yuya.

"_Crap… move…!" _Yuya thought as he jumped out of the way.

The chains, however, followed him.

"Not even your annoyingly-fast brother could avoid these chains!" Gloria yelled, "Now then, bow down to your queen!" She declared as the chains wrapped around Yuya's body and began to tighten.

"U-Urk…!" Yuya grunted as he landed on the ground, purple energy running through his body from the chains.

"Tch… looks like you're a little harder than your brother…" Gloria clicked her tongue.

Beast-Eyes let loose a loud roar as Yuya thrashed against the chains but to no avail.

Suddenly, an idea (or rather, suddenly remembering something) flashed through his head.

Yuya skidded to a halt and took a deep breath. "_That thing I did in the preliminaries… I should be able to do it again… right?" _He thought.

The chains were beginning to tighten, but the world around him seemed to move in slow-motion. "_Remember it… remember that feeling…!" _Yuya thought as the blue jewel in Beast-Eyes' chest began to glow.

Suddenly, Beast-Eyes' form vanished, and Yuya stood inside the space that the chains surrounded. "What…! But you can't transform or revert to normal while wrapped in my chains…!" Gloria gasped.

Yuya's pendant glowed bright blue as it swung from side to side. "Swing, Pendulum of my Soul!" Yuya chanted, "_Eternal Pendulum!" _

Yuya's body glowed a brilliant blue, and Yuya felt the pain in his back immediately vanish, a wave of relief washing through his body.

The chains around him suddenly shattered like glass, and Gloria recoiled in shock. "W-What!?" She exclaimed.

The glow dissipated, though Yuya's body still shined with a faint blue glow. "_I did it…! My wounds are gone…!" _Yuya thought in surprise.

He didn't have time to relax, however, as Gloria was already charging at him. "_End it now…! If you don't, she'll overwhelm you again…!" _Yuya's mind screamed at him.

"Just one attack… just one attack!" Yuya yelled as a blue and green card appeared in front of him.

"_That monster…!" _Gloria thought as she ran at him, "_I can't let him transform into that!"_

But it was too late.

"_Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!" _Yuya yelled as he crushed the card in his hand.

_The night before…_

_Yuya laid on the ground, gasping for air and drenched in sweat. Kachidoki stood nearby, equally exhausted._

"_You've… improved…" Kachidoki said through his gasps for air, "you're nowhere near mastering that beast, but you can at least remain transformed for a short period of time," he sighed._

"_Not long enough to do anything useful, though…" Yuya sighed in response._

"_You have a match tomorrow, so we'll be ending this training session early," Kachidoki said as he walked over and extended his hand to Yuya, "It's not much, but it's still an improvement," Kachidoki said, "For now, your goal is to remain transformed into Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon for just one attack," he explained._

"_Alright," Yuya sighed as he took Kachidoki's hand and pulled himself to his feet, "Oh, and before I forget…" Yuya said as he wiped some sweat from his forehead._

_Kachidoki raised an eyebrow, "Hm?"_

"_Thanks for everything," Yuya said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to do something like this for me, but I probably wouldn't have gotten to this level for a while if it weren't for you," Yuya explained._

"_I'm just paying back my debt to you," Kachidoki sighed, "now get out of here, you're going to need to sleep if you're going to fight properly tomorrow," he sighed._

"_Right, I'll see you later!" Yuya said as he exited the room._

_Kachidoki waited until the door closed, and Yuya had gotten a fair distance away._

"_There are much stronger duelists in Academia than me… making sure you're strong enough to face them is the least I can do…" he sighed._

_Back to the present…_

Purple lightning struck the ground, and the air itself seemed to vibrate as the black-scaled dragon appeared, it's red and green eyes shining menacingly in the dark.

Gloria suddenly stopped moving, her legs freezing in place.

"W-What…?" Gloria gasped, "I… I stopped instinctively…?" She said as her eyes widened.

"_I feel stronger… I can probably use one attack…!" _Yuya thought, "_Hold it together… and go…!"_

Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon's wings opened, and purple electricity sparked to life, forming the rest of the wings.

"Crap, the crystal…!" Gloria cursed.

Yuya flew up, flipping and slamming his two fangs (which were now glowing purple and crackling with electricity) into the ground and charged at Gloria.

"**Imperial Wrath Revolt!" **Yuya yelled.

"I won't let you!" Gloria yelled as she swung her sword down as Yuya tore through the ground.

"**STRIKE DISOBEY!" **Yuya yelled as he reared his head, his fangs clashing against the sword, causing electricity to shoot in every direction.

Gloria stood in front of the crystal, being the only thing between it and Yuya. "Don't think… that you stand a chance…!" She grunted.

Yuya roared as he continued to push her, "_Crap… I can't keep clashing like this… I won't be able to keep this form up…!" _Yuya panicked inside his head.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!" Gloria yelled as she began to push back against Yuya's attack.

Suddenly, just as Yuya began to falter, Yuto burst out from the trees behind Gloria, transformed into Dark Rebellion.

"What!?" Gloria shouted.

"_I thought it was taking too long…!" _Yuto thought as electricity crackled around him, "Revolt of the Lightning! **Disobey!" **He yelled as he charged at Gloria and the crystal from the opposite side.

Gloria clicked her tongue, and a flash of light enveloped her arm, revealing a shield.

Yuto's fang struck the middle of the shield, and Gloria now stood over the half-buried crystal, fending off both Yuya's attack and Yuto's attack.

However, with her strength now being divided into blocking both attacks, both Yuya and Yuto began to push through.

"Go! Yuya!" Yuto yelled.

Yuto's fang shattered the shield, and he continued his attack on Gloria, striking her and blowing both of them away.

A loud roar reverberated through the area, coming from Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon as the two fangs finally hit the crystal.

And finally, in that instant, the crystal shattered like glass.

**End**

* * *

_Bonus Scene!_

* * *

"Yuri," Yuzu said bluntly.

"I dunno… I think I'll pick Yuto…" Rin replied.

"Yuto's gruff but he's super gentle, so I'll go with Yuri," Ruri said with a cheerful smile.

"Yuri's easy to handle if you know him well enough," Serena stated.

"What are you guys talking about?" Yuya asked as he entered the room with Yugo following from behind.

"Oh, it's nothing…" Yuzu started to say.

"We're debating about which of you four is the scariest when they get mad," Serena cut her off, "and we don't mean 'slightly peeved' or 'frustrated'. We're talking about downright _furious_," Serena explained.

"The scariest when furious?" Yugo said as he stared at them, "Well, you'd actually be pretty surprised…" he muttered under his breath.

"Wait, does that mean its not Yuri?" Yuzu asked.

"Or Yuto?" Rin added to the question.

"Well, Yuto's pretty scary when he gets pissed, but he usually calms down pretty quickly," Yugo explained, "I'd say he's in second place," Yugo concluded.

"Yeah, remember when he found out that you broke the game console he bought with his own money?" Yuya asked.

"I was like, eight!" Yugo protested, "I thought something neat would happen if I stuck a cookie into the damn thing instead of a disc, okay!?" He yelled angrily.

"Well, Yuto sure didn't care," Yuya chuckled, "the second he found out that it was your fault, he dashed out of his room, found you, and proceeded to tackle you to the ground," Yuya said cheerfully.

"I saved up money on a child allowance of five dollars a week, along with selling various possessions at school, for six months," Yuto said as he suddenly appeared behind Yugo, causing Yugo to jump in surprise, "I think I'm allowed to be angry if _somebody _broke it less than a week after I bought it," he said, shooting a look at Yugo.

"T-That was a long time ago!" Yugo said nervously, "Y-You're not mad about it anymore, right?" He said as he fidgeted in place.

"I'm not mad at you about it anymore," Yuto said coldly, "but I now know to never let you anywhere near my stuff," he stated.

"You used a lot of bad words that day," Yuya commented, "None of us except Dad knew what most of those words meant, and even then, we had to look in a dictionary to find some of the words you used as you tried to maul Yugo to pieces," he teased.

"Yeah, I got in a pretty hefty amount of trouble with dad because of the language I used…" Yuto sighed, "but I honestly didn't care too much at the time,"

"What about Yuri?" Serena asked.

"Oh, him?" Said Yugo, "Oh, he's just good at getting revenge, but in the end, he's just a harmless plant-obsessed freak that can't ride a bike or anything with less than three wheels, even if his life depended on it…" Yugo started to speak.

Unbeknownst to him, Yuzu and Rin's faces had gone pale, Serena was snickering, Ruri had her hand covering her mouth in an "Oh my!" fashion.

Yuya gulped, and Yuto let out an exasperated sigh, but Yugo continued to go on.

"I mean, it's pretty easy to tell when he's mad because his left eyebrow twitches and he gets this stupidly big grin on his face," Yugo continued to speak, his eyes closed as he continued to diss Yuri. "After you notice that, you just have to be on guard for about a week and then you're in the clear. So he's really just a plant nerd with none of the basic fine motor skills needed to ride a bike…" he said as he opened his eyes and noticed everyone's reactions.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Yugo asked.

Suddenly, a hand came up from behind Yugo and latched onto his shoulder.

"Ack!" Yugo yelped as he slowly turned his head to look behind him.

Yuri was standing there, a smile on his face, and his left eyebrow twitching rather rapidly.

"Y-Yuri!?" Yugo exclaimed.

"Well? Go on!" Yuri said cheerfully, "I'm not stopping you, you can keep going!" He continued as his hand shook ever-so-slightly, Yuri's grip growing stronger by the second.

"U-uh…" Yugo stammered.

"I particularly liked that part where you called me a harmless, plant-obsessed freak…" Yuri continued to speak with a sickly-sweet tone, "oh! And that part where you said I had no basic fine motor skills, I _really _liked that part!" He continued.

Yuri's hand was now shaking violently as it gripped Yugo's shoulder with even more strength.

"W-Wait—O-ow! Hey, you're gripping me way too hard!" Yugo started to shout, "O-ow! OW! Hey! Let go! Yuri!" Yugo's voice continued to raise as Yuri's hand clamped onto Yugo's shoulder like a hydraulic press pushing against another hydraulic press.

Yugo attempted to run, but Yuri's hand remained attached to Yugo's shoulder, and Yuri promptly yanked him back in place.

"Y-Yuri, maybe ease up a little…?" Yuya started to speak.

"Whatever do you mean?" Yuri asked, "I'm simply encouraging Yugo to _keep talking!" _Yuri said cheerfully.

"OW! OW! OWWW! I get it! I'm sorry! Just let go before you break something in there!" Yugo screamed in a panic.

Finally, Yuri released his hold on Yugo, and Yugo promptly dashed away from him and collapsed to the ground, holding his shoulder in pain.

"Agh… Jesus, since when did you have the grip strength of a fucking gorilla…!?" Yugo cursed as Yuya helped him to his feet.

"Come on, let's get some ice…" Yuya said with a comforting tone.

"Y-Yeah…" Yugo muttered as they left the room.

All four of the girls (except for Serena, who looked like she was about to burst into a laughing fit) stared at Yuri nervously.

"I'd say I tie with Yuto for second place in terms of scare-factor when I get pissed," Yuri said nonchalantly.

"Wait, but if you're both second place…" Yuzu began to speak, "then who's in the first place?" She asked.

"It… can't be Yugo, can it?" Rin asked.

"If it's not Yuri or Yuto, it has to be Yugo though…" Ruri pointed out.

"He's the only other option… but I don't think Yugo can do anything as terrifying as what Yuri just did," Serena added.

"Um, you do realize that you've forgotten someone," Yuto pointed out.

All four girls stared at him in bewilderment.

"There's absolutely _no _way it's Yuya," said Yuzu, "He's the kindest and most forgiving person you'll ever meet!" She exclaimed.

"You're bullshitting us," Serena said bluntly, "It has to be one of you two because it's impossible for Yugo or Yuya to reach that kind of level," she stated.

"Yuya… scarier than Yuri just now?" Rin asked, "Sorry, but I'm pretty sure that Yuya is incapable of something like that," she said confidently.

"I really just can't imagine Yugo or Yuya being scary like that…" Ruri said nervously.

Yuto inhaled sharply and bit his bottom lip, and Yuri actually looked… uncomfortable.

"Well, to be fair… Yuya pretty much never gets too angry…" Yuto admitted, "and when he does get angry, he's still pretty mellow…" he continued.

"Yeah, it's pretty hard to believe, but…" Yuri said as he scratched the back of his head, an uncomfortable expression on his face.

All four of the girls stared at them in disbelief.

"A-Actually…" Yuto suddenly spoke up and grabbed Yuri by his shoulder and brought his face close to his ear and whispered something to him.

Yuri nodded, and Yuto quickly backed away.

"Me and Yuri actually tie for first place, Yuya is pretty much incapable of getting, well… pissed," Yuto said quickly.

Yuri cleared his throat and continued for him, "Y-Yeah, you guys actually believed that Yuya of all people could overpower a full-grown man and send him to the—" he started to speak.

Yuto promptly elbowed him in his side to cut him off, and Yuri winced in pain.

The girls were growing even more confused because suddenly both Yuto and Yuri were saying an entirely different thing than from earlier.

"A-Anyways! W-We gotta go!" Yuto said quickly.

"Y-Yeah! See you!" Yuri said just as quickly before dashing out of the room with Yuto close behind.

The door slammed shut, and the sisters stared at each other.

"What the hell was that?" Serena asked.

Meanwhile, Yuya had just given Yugo a bag of ice to put on his shoulder.

"Ah… ACHOO!" Yuya suddenly sneezed.

"Bless you…" Yugo said as he laid on the couch.

"Agh… either somebody is talking about me, or my allergies are just acting up…" Yuya groaned as he sat down.

_End_

**Shorter chapter this time around, but I hit a writer's block again and I need to take a quick break to get my mind organized. I apologize in advance.**

**Until next time.**


	19. Chapter 19: It Begins

**God, it's been a while, hasn't it?**

**Long story short: I needed a break because I suddenly got very judgemental of my own work and everything I wrote, including what I've already published, felt terrible.**

**But I'm back now!**

**Also can wE TALK ABOUT YUGIOH SEVENS WHAT THE FU—**

**Chapter 19: **

Because of Soul, Syrup's next match was passed with ease.

Soul walked away from the shattered crystal, the enemy team lying unconscious on the ground as he brushed off some dust on his shoulder.

"That's that…" he sighed as he patted Syrup's shoulder as she stared at the complete victory Soul had brought them.

She couldn't help but also notice that his gloved hand as trembling.

"Soul, your hands, they're…" Syrup tried to point out.

"It's nothing" Soul promptly cut her off as he walked away.

Even with gloves on, it was still freezing…

So she finally called for the brothers that they would be fighting next.

* * *

"Nice story," Yuri sighed as Syrup finished explaining everything to the boys, "so nice that it could be entirely fictional," he added with a hiss.

Syrup had asked to speak with all of them in private, so they had promptly entered Yuya's room and locked the door behind them.

And now, an awkward tension hung in the room.

"I know it's… hard to believe," Syrup admitted.

None of the boys expected to hear what was basically Soul's backstory, which turned out to be fairly gruesome.

Yuri stared at Syrup suspiciously, Yuto remained with a neutral poker face, Yugo was looking at his brothers anxiously, and Yuya looked nervous as he slowly inched towards the corner of the room.

"So you understand why I think you're full of it, and trying to trick us so you can beat us in the next match," Yuri said venomously.

"Yuri, calm down," Yuto said with a cold gaze.

"Oh, I'm calm," Yuri hissed, "I just didn't think that she'd stoop to something like this," he said with a glare.

"She might be telling the truth, though…" Yuya tried to speak up.

"Oh yeah? And where's her proof, then?" Said Yuri, "And why doesn't she just get a teacher, somebody who's actually qualified to deal with the shit that Soul apparently has going on in his head?" He said sarcastically.

"You have to have noticed!" Syrup exclaimed, "Soul's been wearing heavier and heavier clothing recently! He almost always has gloves on, he wears boots instead of regular shoes, he constantly has his hoodie on over a beanie, and he has multiple shirts underneath all of that as well!" She listed off all of Soul's changes in attire.

"So?" Yuri scoffed.

"You all know how hot it is outside!" She exclaimed, "It's already questionable to wear a black hoodie when it's almost scorching! And now he's dressed like it's going to snow tomorrow!" She yelled.

"Maybe Soul just likes being cooked alive, who knows?" Yuri sighed, "Soul's terrible sense of fashion isn't enough to prove that he has some sort of 'sealed power' within him that he sealed after he killed his little sister, if he even has one…" he muttered.

"Besides, what do you want us to do about it, anyway?" Yuto pointed out.

"I want you guys to buy time…" Syrup said softly, "the truth is… if I get rid of the seal, he'll probably lose control, and if he hurts somebody…" she trailed off.

"So you want us to, what, be his distraction?" Yuri sighed, "While you do what, exactly?" He asked.

"Calm him down," Syrup said firmly, "It's… hard to explain, but I have a way to calm him down and let him get back under control again without a seal… but it might take time," she explained.

"This is dumb," Yuri sighed, "this really is the most idiotic thing I've ever heard," he scoffed.

"Listen, even if you don't accept, I'm still going to undo the seal during our match!" Syrup suddenly stood up, "And if he loses control, what are you gonna do, just run?" She said angrily.

"This is NOT our problem!" Yuri yelled back.

"I'm asking you guys because there's no other option!" Syrup yelled, "I know… I know that if anyone else finds out about this, Soul will completely shut himself in and then nothing will change!" She said as her voice continued to rise higher and higher.

"And how do you know that!?" Yuri yelled back.

"Yuri, calm down―" Yuto tried to speak up.

"I AM CALM!" Yuri yelled (causing Yuto to raise an eyebrow questioningly). "And I think I should point out that this might all be made up, for all we know!" He said accusingly.

"Please!" Syrup suddenly yelled, "I'm just asking you all to make sure that the only people he's focused on are you four, you can even completely defeat him, for all I care! Soul's life is more important than winning this tournament!" She said loudly.

Everybody stared at her as she took deep breaths, "Please… I just need you all to know…" she said as her voice slowly quieted down.

"Yuri… this doesn't really change what our strategy was, right?" Yuya pointed out.

"Y-Yeah! We were planning to prioritize Soul anyway!" Yugo suddenly spoke up.

Yuri glared at both of them, so they both decided to shut up.

"Do what you want," Yuri said to Syrup.

"Is there anything else you need us to know?" Yuto spoke up as Yuri sat down and grumbled to himself.

"No… that's all," Syrup sighed, "thank you…" she said with a small smile.

"Um… I have a question," Yuya said nervously.

Syrup nodded her head, so Yuya continued.

"Does Soul know about this? And is he really… dying?" Yuya asked.

"No, he doesn't know," Syrup answered, "but he is dying, so I have to do something, even if he doesn't know about it," she explained.

"Well… Soul is our friend," Yuya said as he slowly got more confident in his words, "So… let's hope this works, okay?"

Syrup smiled, "Thanks, Yuya…" she said gratefully.

* * *

"Yuzu, can I ask you a serious question?" Serena asked.

"Huh? What's this all of a sudden?" Yuzu replied as she stared at Serena, who was leaning against the wall and giving her usual intense stare, which felt like a glare to others.

"What's the deal with Yuya? You like him or not?" Serena asked bluntly.

Yuzu's face flushed, "I-I don't—what do you…!" She started to stammer.

"Cut it with the dumb tsundere-schtick!" Serena suddenly shouted, "I'm being serious! I'm not teasing, so just be honest!" She said firmly.

Yuzu's eyes widened in surprise, "What are you talking about…?" She asked.

"We all see it, but Rin and Ruri are more focused on teasing you about it," said Serena, "but I need a clear answer, and so do you. What is the deal with Yuya? Do. You. Like. Him?" Serena asked with a clear emphasis on the last part.

"I-It's complicated…" Yuzu started to reply.

"How? Why's it complicated? Your face turns a brighter shade of red than his hair when you're around him, are you blushing or are you having a heat stroke?" Serena cut her off angrily.

"I… It's hard to explain…" Yuzu tried to explain.

"Bullshit," Serena sighed, "It's your feelings, just close your eyes, focus on them, and talk," Serena said, this time with a calm tone of voice.

"Do we… really have to do this…?" Yuzu asked.

"_YES!" _Serena exclaimed, "I'm not the one who desperately needs a clear answer, I just _want _one. You're the one who _needs _a clear answer here."

"Well…" Yuzu said as she closed her eyes, "Again… it's complicated…" Yuzu said, expecting Serena to cut her off again, but she said nothing.

Yuzu took a deep breath and continued, "Yuya is the first friend I made here, and he's a really good person… better than me as well. He always has an optimistic outlook on things, he's kind and gentle, but he's dependable when it really counts…" Yuzu started to speak.

"And?" Serena calmly urged Yuzu to continue.

Yuzu could suddenly feel the words pouring out, "He's selfless… a little too selfless, actually. Other people's happiness always seems to come before his own, but he's still always smiling, and it's hard to tell if he's actually happy when he does that…" she said as her eyes slowly opened.

_Because of that, I feel drawn to him… he should be a little more selfish, you know? I understand that he wants to see people having fun, but what's the point if he's not having fun himself? I'm not saying his smile is fake right now… but it's just a feeling I have._

_Every time we see each other, he's almost always in a good mood. He's funny, he's nice, and I… admire that. I want to keep being with him, he became my first friend outside of my sisters, and he quickly became my most important friend as well… but I'm afraid to push it any further than that._

_Things are good as they are right now… as just a friend, he already makes every day so much better… so maybe I do like him… is that what these feelings are?_

"_But I don't want to lose what I already have with him… what if it doesn't work? Just because we're friends, doesn't mean we're a perfect match… If our relationship becomes something more, and then just crashes down… what would that mean for our friendship? We could say that we can still be friends, but would I still be able to look at him the same way?_

"That's an understandable fear," Serena said suddenly.

"Eh? Was I speaking out loud!?" Yuzu blushed.

Serena smiled, "Loud and clear," Serena replied, "but keep going, you still haven't reached your answer yet, have you?" She asked.

"My… answer?" Yuzu asked.

"You've made it clear you have feelings for the guy," Serena said, "so what do you want to do with those feelings?" She asked.

"It's him as well…" Yuzu sighed, "See, I've seen him train…" Yuzu trailed off.

_**Earlier that morning…**_

"_One more time…!" Yuya gasped._

"_No, I think a break is in order… you'll get nowhere from overworking yourself." Kachidoki said sternly._

"_No! I'm nowhere close to overworking myself…!" Yuya suddenly stood up straight, "I'm not done…! I'm going to do this, I need to do this…!" Yuya wheezed._

"_Uh, no, I can't train you if you pass out, drink some water already and hydrate yourself," Kachidoki said bluntly as he stared at Yuya's legs, which were trembling to support Yuya's sweat-covered body._

_Yuya had been dragged outside by Kachidoki, late at night, for a long run. Both boys wore typical running equipment: a tank top, light shorts, a towel around their necks, and a small plastic water bottle clipped to an athletic fanny-pack filled with protein bars._

_Kachidoki had broken a sweat, but was still going strong. Yuya, meanwhile, was completely drenched and exhausted, gasping for air._

_Meanwhile, Yuzu had decided to secretly follow them, quickly throwing on some black running-tights, a sports bra, a pink tank top, and a water bottle that she had forgotten to fill in her rush to follow them._

_She was already regretting her lack of water, as she had to run to keep up with them, and was just as exhausted as Yuya was._

_Luckily, there was a water fountain nearby to save her from potential dehydration._

_Yuya and Kachidoki were running on a sidewalk that went along a beach. Kachidoki had already noticed Yuzu's presence and had decided to ignore her (much to Yuzu's relief), while Yuya had gotten so exhausted that he was no longer really paying much attention to his surroundings, and was merely focusing on running._

"_Overworking will have the opposite effect. Just keep running at my pace, stop when I tell you, and your stamina will definitely improve." Kachidoki sighed as he took a swig from his water bottle._

"_Yeah… okay…" Yuya sighed as he took an eager gulp of water._

"_Oi! Drink in moderation, damn it!" Kachidoki scolded him._

"_S-Sorry!" Yuya yelped._

_Yuzu sighed and sat down on the grass nearby. The sidewalk had the beach to its left, and on the right was a sharp decline that made it easy for Yuzu to hide herself in Yuya's blind spot, though Kachidoki had easily spotted her when he had looked around._

"_You're especially passionate today, what's happened?" Kachidoki asked._

"_Well… it's just recently hit me…" Yuya answered, "Just how important the job of a duelist is, and just how hard my goal is."_

"_What do you mean?" Kachidoki asked._

_Yuya looked up at the night sky, "Duelists… our job is to save people, but my goal is to become a duelist who doesn't just save people… but makes them happy as well…" he explained._

"_Hm… but those are fairly similar goals, no?" Kachidoki asked, "Saving somebody already makes them happy, is that not correct?"_

"_That's true… but I'm aiming for something more than that, I'm aiming for what my father is." Yuya explained, "My dad… when he saves somebody, he also does something that makes them really smile… sometimes it's a joke, or maybe a magic trick or something flashy for a scared kid… but he takes the happiness from being saved and enhances it."_

"_Your father, Yusho Sakaki, the Entertainment Duelist…" Kachidoki muttered, "Before I met you, I could never understand his method, nor agree with it…" he muttered._

"_And now?" Yuya asked._

_Kachidoki chuckled, "Well, I now understand and agree with it, but I don't think it's something I'm cut out for." he answered._

"_Heh, that's fine!" Yuya laughed, "But it's my goal and dream… but in order to entertain the people I save, I have to save them first, and if I want to save them, I have to be strong…" he said._

_Kachidoki stared at Yuya's face, which seemed oddly focused during the moment he said "and if I want to save them, I have to be strong…"_

"_So that's why you have a newfound focus on strength?" Kachidoki asked._

"_Don't get me wrong, fun and smiles comes first!" Yuya said with a grin, "but… yeah, I've realized that I really do need power, especially now…" Yuya trailed off._

"_Why now?" Kachidoki asked._

"_Well, I can't really talk about it, sorry…" Yuya said quickly, "But… let's just say that something important is going to happen, and I'm gonna need to be as strong as I can."_

_Yuzu quietly eavesdropped on the conversation, praying that Yuya wouldn't notice her laboured gasps for air, which she was trying to keep as quiet as possible._

"_Hm… if you truly can't talk about it right now, then I won't pry any further," Kachidoki said as he got to his feet, "but I will wish you luck, for whatever ordeal you might face in the future!" He declared as he helped Yuya to his feet._

"_Heh, thanks!" Yuya replied._

"_Alright, come now!" Kachidoki started to jog in place, "We're running until sunrise!" He declared._

"_Sunrise!?" Both Yuya and Yuzu exclaimed._

_Yuya turned in surprise at Yuzu's direction, and Yuzu quickly pressed herself against the incline to hide from Yuya._

"_Huh? Was that…?" Yuya muttered._

_Kachidoki decided to save Yuzu by drawing Yuya's attention, "Come on! Until sunrise, let's go!" He yelled._

"_W-Wait! I thought you said we were just going to run for an hour!" Yuya turned and exclaimed._

"_I thought you wanted to get stronger! I only made it an hour because I thought you wouldn't be able to take it mentally if I made it any longer!" Kachidoki yelled as he started to jog._

"_W-Wait up!" Yuya exclaimed as he started to run after him._

_Meanwhile, Yuzu was quickly regretting her decision to follow them on their run as she started to run after them._

_She checked her watch, it was 4:30 in the morning. Sunrise typically came at around 7:30, so that meant approximately…_

"_Three more hours…?" Yuzu gasped as she ran._

_It was only after they had gone a good distance that she realized that she forgot to fill her bottle with water at the water fountain, and it took all of her willpower to not cry out in exasperation/exhaustion._

_Well, at least she had gotten a good workout… maybe next time she'd just ask to go with them so that somebody could remind her to come with water._

_**Back to the present…**_

"He's so focused on his goals… do I really want to become a distraction to all of that?" Yuzu asked.

"You consider yourself a distraction?" Serena asked.

"I mean, love in general is…!" Yuzu sighed, "He spends so much time doing his best, though his school grades are still terrible…" Yuzu admitted.

"Heh, I'm pretty sure him and Yugo would have flunked out by now if it weren't for your tutoring sessions…" Serena said jokingly.

"Serena, you're in the same boat…" Yuzu pointed out.

**The Group's Grades (Comments Included):**

**Yuto (The Model Student):**

Mathematics Class: A (96%)

"_Once you know the tricks it's easy."_

English Class: A+ (100%)

"_How can you do bad in this class? It's basically reading and writing!"_

Social Studies Class: B+ (89%)

"_Admittedly not my favorite, but whatever."_

Science Class: A- (92%)

"_Yugo, if you actually listen, it's not that hard."_

Dueling Principles: A+ (99%)

"_You might be in the wrong place if you're struggling here, not gonna lie."_

Xyz Principles: A+ (100%)

"_I signed up for this because of what my first monster was, and Shun seems to have all the answers if I have a question."_

Action Athletics: A (97%)

"_It's a pretty hard class, but nothing I can't handle."_

Writing Essentials: A+ (100%)

"_It's… it's fun? Why is Yugo looking at me like I'm an alien?"_

**Yugo (The Dumbass):**

Mathematics Class: B- (80%)

"_Building D-Wheels involves a little math, so despite what you might think, I'm NOT inept at this subject!"_

"_I don't think you needed to say that, and you're still just barely keeping an 80."_

English Class: C- (72%)

"_FFFFFUCK LETTERS."_

Social Studies Class: B (86%)

"_I mean, we watch movies based on real history sometimes…"_

Science Class: F (59%)

"_What the hell!? How the hell am I supposed to memorize this periodic… table? Why the hell is it called a table!?"_

"_Yugo you don't need to… ugh…"_

Dueling Principles: A- (90%)

"_Finally! A good class!"_

Synchro Principles: A (93%)

"_Why can't all classes be this good!?"_

D-Wheel Functions: A+ (99%)

"_I AM A GOD IN THIS CLASS HOLY SHIT."_

History of Riding: A (96%)

"_This class… a little boring sometimes, to be honest, but it has its usually interesting!"_

**Yuri (The Asshole):**

Mathematics Class: A+ (100%)

"_Y'all are just idiots, math is easy."_

English Class: B (87%)

"_This class is dumb. If the teacher doesn't like your explanation of a character or a book, you fail."_

"_Yuri, you described Harry Potter as 'A bitch with glasses and a dumb scar' without any other context"_

"_There was nothing more to be said."_

"_But it's Harry Pot—*sigh*"_

Social Studies Class: A (98%)

"_History can be described as just a bunch of different people being different assholes."_

Science Class: A+ (100%)

"_So many ways to make lethal substances…! I love it…!"_

Dueling Principles: A+ (100%)

"_Fusion should be ashamed that he got something as low as a 90…"_

"_MY NAME IS YUGO—"_

Fusion Principles: A+ (100%)

"_Truly, I have the superior Monster Type."_

Gardening: A+ (100%)

"_Oh, plants… nobody understands your beauty like I do…"_

Debate Class: B (86%)

"_I didn't know what else to sign up for, so I just signed up for the class that gives me an excuse to yell at people, but they don't even let you yell at people! What do you mean I have to be respectful!? Have you SEEN politicians!? I wanna start throwing chairs!"_

**Yuya (The Purest):**

Mathematics Class: C (76%)

"_Agh! I hate math!"_

English Class: C- (72%)

"_Yuzu is the only reason I'm passing…"_

"_Good to see that you appreciate my help."_

Social Studies Class: C- (74%)  
"_History is depressing and Geography is tough… but the movies are cool, I guess…"_

Science Class: C+ (79%)

"_How… how is this a C+!? I feel like I'm doing terrible here!"_

"_Maybe you should focus on turning one of these C's into a B, at least."_

Dueling Principles: A- (91%)

"_Hah… this class is a little easier…"_

"_A 91… not bad…"_

"_YURI WHAT THE HELL YOU GOT MAD AT ME FOR GETTING A 90—"_

Standard Principles: B (86%)

"_I wish they had a Pendulum Principles class…"_

"_Maybe when more than four people can use that type…"_

Action Athletics: A+ (100%)

"_WOOHOO! I LOVE THIS CLASS!"_

Theater: A (97%)

"_After the whole Romeo & Juliet thing stuck with me! Acting is fun!"_

**Ruri (The Pretty Girl)**

Mathematics Class: A (96%)  
"_Yuto and Brother are really good in this class! I really have them to thank for my good grade in this class!"_

English Class: B (86%)

"_The reading is really interesting! But the writing is hard…"_

Social Studies Class: B (86%)

"_I'm sorry, but I do get sleepy during this class…"_

"_Has… has Soul been rubbing off on you?"_

Science Class: B- (81%)

"_Hah… thanks for sharing your notes, Yuto…"_

Dueling Principles: A (96%)

"_I wonder if I can defeat Yuto or Brother someday…"_

Xyz Principles: A (97%)

"_Yuto is always so focused during this class, I need to step up my game!"_

Crafts: B+ (90%)

"_Sewing is relaxing, you all should try it sometime!"_

Dance: A (96%)

"_Serena is in this class with me! It's really fun!"_

**Rin (The Tech-Master)**

Mathematics Class: A+ (98%)

"_Thank god Yugo is decent at math… building a D-Wheel would be so much harder if I had to be the only one doing the math."_

English Class: D (70%)

"_I'm not going to pretend… I really do suck at this class…"_

Social Studies Class: C+ (79%)

"_I'm decent, and I'm fine with that."_

Science Class: B+ (91%)

"_Who knew that this class would be a little interesting? Yugo, you better stop staring at me like that, or else I'll slug you…"_

"_BUT SCIENCE SUCKS WHAT ARE YOU—"_

Dueling Principles: B (86%)

"_It's my fault, really. I didn't pay much attention in this class, so Yugo can go ahead and gloat."_

Synchro Principles: B+ (89%)

"_Huh, a smaller number than I thought I had…"_

Mechanics: A+ (100%)

"_Hey, if someone finds me unattractive because I like working with machines, then fuck them, they don't have good taste."_

_D-Wheel Functions: A+ (100%)_

"_I always see Yugo with this dumb grin on his face every time we're in this class."_

**Serena (Ms. Give-me-a-nickname-and-I'll-make-sure-nobody-finds-your-body)**

Mathematics Class: D (68%)

"_It used to be a 69, but I made it go down a percent so that the boys don't have a dumb joke to constantly shove in my face."_

"_Why didn't you make it go up instead of down?"_

"_Too much work."_

English Class: D (70%)

"_Who needs english class anyway?"_

Social Studies Class: C- (72%)

"_We watched 'Saving Private Ryan' once. Yuya cried, I got a picture, and Yuri proceeded to throw his books at me for taking a picture."_

Science Class: C- (73%)

"_Yuri lets me cheat off of him."_

Dueling Principles: A+ (99%)  
"_That missing 1% angers me…"_

Fusion Principles: A+ (100%)

"_See, these are the classes that matter!"  
_"_Serena, they all matter…"_

Action Athletics: A+ (100%)

"_I didn't expect Yuya to be as good at this as he is…"_

Dancing: A (98%)

"_What? Surprised that I dance?"_

"_Kind of, yeah."_

**Yuzu (The Team-Tutor)**

Mathematics Class: A (98%)

"_See, there's a trick to this type of question…"_

English Class: A (97%)

"_You're using periods too often, remember that commas are a thing."_

Social Studies Class: A (96%)

"_Here, these are some key terms you can use to remember things…"_

Science Class: A (97%)  
"_Yugo, you don't have to memorize the periodic table, you're given access to one at all times, even during tests."_

Dueling Principles: A+ (99%)

"_Everybody seems to be doing fine here… actually, everyone seems to be doing okay in their extracurricular classes…"_

Standard Principles: A (96%)

"_Well, I can use Pendulum now… but this class is still useful since the only other type I use is Standard…"_

Choir: A (99%)  
"_I just went because I was curious, but then they insisted I join them after I auditioned and, well, here I am."_

_Action Athletics: A- (93%)_

"_It's mostly gymnastics here, and it gets tough at times, so I wouldn't recommend this class to anyone who isn't adept at physical activities."_

**END OF LIST**

"Okay, grades are another topic, back to Yuya." Said Serena.

"Right, I guess what I'm trying to say is that… I think it might be for the best that we stay friends…" Yuzu sighed.

"Because you think you'd be a distraction to him?" Serena asked, "What if he returns your feelings? Wouldn't that be pretty selfish?" She asked.

"If he returns them, which I doubt he does…" Yuzu said while looking down.

"Well, it's your decision and love-life," Serena sighed, "Unlike everybody else, I don't exactly like to play matchmaker."

Yuzu stayed silent as Serena started to walk out of the room.

"But, a little advice?" Serena turned back and looked at her, "Keep your decision in the workshop, you know, just in case," she said with a smile, "just so you'll be sure that you won't regret it."

After Serena left the room, Yuzu sighed and looked down, a melancholy expression on her face.

For some reason, her bracelet caught her eye.

After staring at the pink gem inside the accessory, Yuzu took a deep breath.

"It'll be fine…" Yuzu said to herself, "These feelings… I'll just bury them deep down… inside me…" she assured herself.

* * *

"You've got this, Rin!" Yugo yelled.

"Everybody place your bets!" Yuri called out.

"Eh? We're betting again!?" Yuya exclaimed.

Outside, a small crowd had gathered around a table where Rin and Syrup sat on opposite sides of, their hands firmly grasped with their elbows on the table.

"I leave for one second, and you guys start an arm wrestle with money on the line?" Yuto said as he joined the group, balancing two drinks on each arm.

"It's the battle of the century! It's Syrup—the surprisingly strong champion, versus Rin—the girl with arm strength that could kill a man!" Yugo exclaimed, his excitement through the roof.

"EXCUSE ME!?" Rin yelled, her face suddenly straining even more as anger was added to the strength she was using to try and push Syrup's hand down.

"But… how did this even happen?" Yuto asked.

"Oh, it started out innocently enough," Yuri answered, "some guy was challenging people to arm wrestling matches, and suddenly Syrup wanted to go a round—even after seeing some giant, Gongenzaka-sized man get destroyed by the first guy."

"It was kind of funny, seeing someone short like Syrup suddenly facing somebody more than twice her size!" Ruri said as she suddenly joined the conversation.

"It went from funny to hilarious after Syrup threw him ten feet away in less than five seconds." Yuri said with an evil grin, "You have no idea how much cash I've stolen because of her!" He cackled.

Yuto turned to the arm wrestle, raising his eyebrows at the sight.

Rin was visibly struggling, her face turning red with effort and beads of sweat rolling down the side of her face. Syrup was gritting her teeth, but smiling and showing less exhaustion than Rin.

The area where their hands met was trembling, and was slowly inching down to Rin's side.

"No! Rin! I have so much riding on this! Don't lose!" Yugo panicked.

"Then maybe… don't… bet on things… you idiot!" Rin growled as she started to push Syrup back.

"_What the heck… it's like I'm watching two beasts right now…" _Yuya thought to himself, imagining the spirit of a gorilla floating behind Rin while an imaginary tiger floated behind Syrup.

Then, the wood table they were fighting on cracked right between their elbows.

"Oh shit…" Yuto sighed.

"Um, should we abort this competition…?" Yuya asked.

The two girls had completely tuned them out however, and paid no attention to the panicked voices of their friends, or the slowly-breaking table.

"_Crap… I'm losing strength…!" _Rin thought as she felt herself being pushed back again by Syrup.

And then, the table broke in half.

Both of them yelped as the fell backward, the table pieces clattering to the ground.

A series of "awww's" echoed through the area, mixed with cheers about how the table had broken. Yuri sighed in disappointment and put away the bag he had filled with cash. "Well, I guess nobody wins, so everybody keeps their cash…" Yuri said with a hint of frustration.

Yugo's face was pale, and Yuto gave him a solemn look.

"I suggest you start being more careful with your actions… you might actually die if you keep giving Rin reasons to slug you…" Yuto sighed.

"Geez… I didn't expect that…" Rin groaned, "though, you do carry Soul around all day…" she said.

"Aha… it's nothing, really!" Syrup said nonchalantly.

Rin raised an eyebrow at that comment, but decided to brush it off as modesty.

Unbeknownst to all of them, however, Soul was watching from nearby.

"Strange…" He muttered, "She's able to lift me, so I knew she was stronger than she looks… but what the hell…?" He muttered.

Soul had taken one look at Syrup and realized that she hadn't actually been trying too hard against Rin, and still caused the table to break.

She didn't _look _physically strong, she actually looked the opposite. Syrup's arms and upper body were fairly small, and as someone who was being carried by those same arms almost every day, he could tell that there was very little muscle on her as well.

But seriously, her appearance suggested average, maybe even slightly less than average, levels of upper body strength. Someone of her build might slightly exert themselves from lifting the lightest weights you could find in a gym, yet she clearly had enough strength in her upper body to lift a fully-grown adult man by his legs with one arm.

Now, he had no problems with women who could kick his ass (something like that was actually a trait for his "type"). But considering her frame, it didn't seem normal.

"Maybe I'll ask her about it…" Soul muttered.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp decrease in temperature around his left hand.

He had recently started wearing heavy gloves everywhere he went because of the fact that his body was getting colder at a faster rate, but even this surprised him.

The temperature around his arm was warm, even hot actually, but his hand had just gotten colder.

"It's… happening faster than I thought…" Soul sighed as he reached his shivering hand into his pocket, pulling out a small, blue bundled scarf.

He quickly wrapped the cloth around his hand multiple times until his fist looked more like a blue ball.

It helped a little bit, but he couldn't go around flaunting the fact he was wearing a scarf on his hand, and in a place as hot as this.

He already got enough looks for being dressed like it was about to snow, so he stuffed his hands in his hoodie pockets and started to leave.

"Syrup's business is her business," Soul said to himself, "I should leave it alone."

* * *

Later in the day, the brothers now sat in Syrup's room, discussing their strategy.

"It's just Soul, isn't having all four of us fight him… a little overkill?" Yugo asked.

"Yeah, I still think you might just slip past while we're fighting and attack our unguarded crystal," Yuri said accusingly, "the crystal is still the only way you can win."

"Have you guys paid attention to any of our previous matches?" Syrup asked.

Syrup stood in front of a whiteboard with a marker in her hand, the brothers all sitting down in front of her and listening as she went over the strategy.

"I paid _some _attention. You can't seriously expect me to pay complete attention to your matches, can you?" Yuri replied.

"Yes I can, actually…" Syrup pouted.

"I paid attention! Though I still don't understand why all of us need to gang up on Soul…" Yuya spoke up.

Syrup could only groan in exasperation, and she was about to rely on these guys pretty heavily as well.

Luckily, Yuto actually paid attention and was able to explain it to them for her.

"In all of their matches so far, all of the teams they've faced have done the same thing," Yuto explained, "Have some team members attack, while others defend."

"Yeah, so? What's wrong with that?" Yugo asked.

"Because that's been the downfall of every single one of them," Syrup took over, "Soul's Blade-Messiah's… they're all incredibly fast, and Soul likes to employ hit-and-run tactics when he fights with them. Because his Blade-Messiah's are human-sized, humanoid monsters, they are small and hard to hit because of his speed and fighting style." Syrup explained, though Yugo looked completely lost.

"Huh…? Hit and… what?" He stammered, "What the heck are you talking about! English please!" He shouted.

"She's speaking english, you were just born too early and didn't finish developing your brain." Yuri taunted as his usual grin formed on his face.

"Shut up, dickhead!" Yugo shouted back.

"Quiet! We're all listening right now!" Yuto hissed.

"No, Fusion can't listen to anything, so I don't think _all _of us is something you can—" Yuri started to say before Yugo threw himself at him, tackling Yuri to the ground.

"I'll teach you what happens when you call me Fusion…!" Yugo yelled.

"Ow! Alright, thanks for nominating to be the first one to have a venus flytrap shoved up their…!" Yuri started to threaten as they rolled around the room.

Two loud smacks reverberated through the room, and both Yugo and Yuri now sat quietly on their knees, a large bump forming on each of their heads.

Yuto sighed, clapping his hands together while Yuya slowly inched away from him.

"Thanks for smacking some sense into them, Yuto!" Syrup said with a smile.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I have to do it all the time at home." Yuto said with an unnerving amount of calmness.

Syrup quickly cleared her throat and continued to talk, "See, that job-assigning strategy that attempts to balance offense and defense has been the downfall of the people we've fought so far," Syrup explained, "The reason is because the attackers are who Soul encounters first once he charges, and because of his combined mobility and power, either makes quick work of the attackers, or if they're particularly slow, will just ignore them and go straight for the enemy crystal."

Yugo raised his hand, "Yes, Yugo?" Syrup asked.

"So then wouldn't it be a better idea to have everybody defending the crystal?" Yugo asked.

"Nope," Syrup answered, "If Soul gets anywhere close to the crystal, you can expect it to get shattered, whether anybody goes down around it or not."

"None of us have any decent defense techniques besides shielding the crystal with ourselves," Yuto continued off of Syrup, "Soul can and will just move around us and get an attack on the crystal, and not even Yuya's magicians can put up a barrier strong enough to withstand more than one of Soul's attacks." He explained.

"All you guys need to do is get one good hit," Syrup cut in, "once you do, I can start my part of the plan from there."

"You mind explaining that part?" Yuri sighed.

"One of Apprentice Illusion Magician's abilities, Mind Crush, can let me enter Soul's mind," Syrup explained, "It leaves my body vulnerable, but I'll be able to undo the seal from there." She explained.

"Wait, won't it look suspicious if you just drop to the ground, then?" Yuya spoke up.

"That's why I won't be there," Syrup said with a grin, "If one team member is unable to fight, the rest of the team is still allowed to continue…" she started to explain.

"Wait, unable to fight…?" Yuto started to ask.

Syrup patted her leg and looked all of them in the eye, "It's quite simple, I just have to break my leg and act upset that I won't be in the match!" She said a little too cheerfully.

…

"Huh?" All four boys spoke out loud.

"I'm not gonna lie… I've been pretty useless to Soul this entire time," Syrup smiled, "Even if he ends up in Losers Bracket because of this, I'm sure he'll be able to keep moving forward, even without me…" she explained.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Yuya exclaimed, "Breaking your leg!? What the heck are you…?" He started to ask.

"It's not that hard to do, and I'll just say I took a pretty bad fall down the stairs," Syrup said with a smile, "With the doctors and healing abilities here, I'll probably recover fairly quickly, but I won't be able to participate in the match, so I'll be able to use Mind Crush on Soul without being noticed!" She said cheerfully.

"But there's a barrier around the arena, attacks won't get through." Yuri pointed out.

"My plan for that involves a whole lot of complicated magic abilities, and do you really want that explanation?" Syrup asked.

"Fair enough," Yuri sighed.

"Wait, but this is your leg we're breaking! Won't that hurt a lot!?" Yuya exclaimed.

"There's a lot more at stake than just my leg, Yuya," Syrup said calmly, "Don't worry, I'll be fine!" She said with a reassuring smile.

A moment of silence passed before Syrup sighed and brought her right leg up and placed it on the table.

"Alright, there's not much time, so I should get this over with now…" she sighed, "Anybody here can help if they want, but if you're uncomfortable with what my leg is about to look like… leave now." She said bluntly.

* * *

"Hey Yuzu…" Yuya muttered.

Yuzu didn't expect to find Yuya in the lobby, and was a little concerned when she saw the pale look on his face.

"Yuya! What happened, you look so pale!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"Oh… I just thought of something gross, that's all…" Yuya sighed, "Have you ever broken a limb before?" He suddenly asked.

"Huh? Why do you ask…" Yuzu started to ask.

"HEY! WE NEED A DOCTOR!"

Yuzu yelped in surprise as Yuto, Yuri, and Yugo stumbled out of the elevator with Syrup in Yuto's arms.

Yuzu was even _more _surprised when Syrup came into clearer view, revealing that she was wincing in pain, and her right leg was clumsily wrapped with a stick, and a large, dark-purple bruise was forming on that leg.

"Oh my god, what happened!?" Yuzu yelled.

"I pushed myself too hard in the training room…!" Syrup said, grinning despite the rest of her face wincing in pain.

A crowd quickly formed around them, and Syrup was almost immediately whisked away to a hospital when an ambulance arrived.

Meanwhile, Yuya's face seemed to get paler.

"Geez… and her match with you guys is tomorrow…!" Yuzu sighed, "Yuya… hey, are you okay? You look like you're about to throw up!" She exclaimed.

"Well… let's just say that broken limbs make me… a little queasy…" Yua sighed as he leaned back on the chair.

"Ah, I see…" Yuzu said as she stared down at him.

"_These feelings… I'll just bury them deep down… inside me…"_

Yuzu gulped as her own words echoed through her head.

"Come on then… let's get you back to the hotel room!" Yuzu sighed as she grabbed him by his arms and pulled him to his feet.

"Thanks…" Yuya sighed.

"No problem!" Yuzu said with a smile, "It's what friends are for, right?"

* * *

"Seriously, who's the irresponsible one now?" Soul sighed.

"Ehehe… sorry!" Syrup said with a nervous smile on her face.

"This is the _second _time you've ended up in the hospital since we arrived here," Soul sighed, "And our next match is tomorrow…" he sighed.

"Again, sorry!" Syrup exclaimed.

Soul glanced at her suspiciously, "_Despite everything she knows about me… she still seems as peppy as ever…" _He thought to himself.

"You're planning something, aren't you?" Soul asked.

"Eh?" Syrup looked up at him.

"I'm not an idiot, I know you're trying something, and it involves me," he sighed, "You've been acting way too carefree, even for you, and it's really obvious." He explained.

"I…" Syrup racked her mind for answers, but she wasn't coming up with any good excuses.

Soul let out an exasperated sigh as he stared at her leg, which now sat suspended in the air with a cast. "Just… do what you want," He sighed, "Clearly whatever you're planning, you were devoted enough to break your own leg for it."

"But no matter what you do, it won't work," he said quickly, "This seal is necessary, and what happens to me doesn't mean anything in the bigger picture."

"That's not true!" Syrup exclaimed, "That seal isn't necessary, and what happens to you… you matter just as much as everyone else!" She yelled.

Soul said nothing and simply turned his back and started to leave.

"I'll have to fight alone tomorrow, so have fun being a spectator," Soul said as he started to walk out of the door.

Suddenly, Soul felt a sharp prick on the back of his neck.

"Ow…" he muttered as he scratched the area, "What the heck…?" He said as he felt the area around his neck.

His fingers, however, felt nothing there.

He looked back at Syrup, who was staring at him with a stubborn look on her face.

"Whatever…" he sighed as he started to leave.

Syrup slowly put her hand down, sighing in relief as she watched him leave.

Her eyes drifted to the small golden dot of light on the back of his neck, which slowly dimmed and vanished from view.

"I can't believe that I would ever use that…" She mumbled to herself as she stared at her hand with a solemn look on her face.

"Let's see… are there any cameras here?" She spoke out loud as she looked around the room.

She spotted… two cameras, one in the corner that monitored her, and another near the door monitoring who came in and out.

She frowned as she looked at the camera monitoring her before flopping down on the hospital bed and resting her head on the pillow. "I guess I'm not relaxing anytime soon…" she sighed.

Suddenly, she noticed something black on her leg cast.

_Get well soon_

_-Soul_

She smiled, "Aww, I never thought you were the kind of guy who signed casts…" she said softly.

* * *

"Alright, Syrup may not be here, but these things are almost done…!" Serena grunted.

"Speak for yourself! These things are way too heavy to be worn, are you sure this is paper mache!?" Yuzu exclaimed.

Rin walked over and picked up the "horn" and sighed, "Yuzu, this thing isn't heavy at all, what are you talking about?" She asked.

"She's trying to back out." Serena said bluntly.

"Look at these things!" Yuzu exclaimed defensively, "These are way too revealing! Don't you girls have any shame!?" She exclaimed.

"Oh yeah? And what exactly are they revealing?" Serena asked.

"T-There's no sleeves…! And my stomach…!" Yuzu stammered.

"Yuzu, the main theme _was _cheerleading," Ruri said kindly, "do you really want to back out after all of the work we put in?" She asked.

"I mean… yeah this turned out way better than I thought… but still! I think I might actually die of shame!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"Hey, it covers more than any swimsuit…" Rin pointed out.

"But…!" Yuzu cried out.

"For a first-time cosplay attempt, this is really high-quality…" Serena muttered, "Honestly, if it weren't for Soul coming in to help all the time, we probably would've given up…" she sighed.

"Rin! Aren't you embarrassed!?" Yuzu shouted in desperation.

"A little bit, yeah," Rin admitted as she stared at her own costume, "But I did actually have a lot of fun making it, so it'd be a pretty big waste if I never wore it…" she added.

"If it makes you feel any better, Yuzu," Serena spoke up, "I recently realized that Yuri is never going to let me forget about this, so I am regretting it a little bit." She admitted.

"So then…!" Yuzu said hopefully.

"Nope, still doing it," Serena cut her off, "Yuri might be annoying, but I don't see the embarrassing side of this."

"Well, you _are _the one who tried to change into a swimsuit in front of everybody that one time…" Rin sighed, "of course you have no shame…" she said exasperatedly.

"Of course, Brother might try to kill us," Ruri pointed out, "or anybody who looks at us. One of the two!" She said cheerfully.

"Oh yeah, Ruri's a bit of an airhead as well," Rin said with a smile, "come on! I'm sure Yuya will like it!" She said with a grin.

"We're just friends!" Yuzu said adamantly.

Serena glanced at Yuzu, and Yuzu clenched her fist.

"Fine! It's just Yuya, there's nothing to be embarrassed about!" Yuzu suddenly exclaimed.

Rin and Ruri stared at Yuzu in confusion before looking at each other and shrugging. "Alright then, let's try these things on then!" Ruri said as she picked up her costume.

* * *

"I'm still wondering why we agreed to this…" Yuri sighed.

"Why wouldn't we? I think she's telling the truth!" Yuya said confidently.

"Yeah yeah… honestly I think she's telling the truth at this point as well," Yuri admitted, "Seriously, breaking her own leg and taking herself out of the match… she's either telling the truth, or she's completely insane." He said as he finished stretching his arms.

All four brothers sat in the waiting room, awaiting the moment when the battle would begin.

Yuya still felt like it wasn't even happening yet, but it was.

It was going to happen eventually, after all.

"Yuto, how did training with Kurosaki go?" Yugo asked.

"Shun's a good friend and trainer," Yuto answered, "I don't know if I can pull off a Rank-up today, but if it comes to it, I'm going to try." He said confidently.

"Well don't be upset if it doesn't work," Yuri said with a wide grin, "I've recently put another trick up my sleeve, and it's so impressive, even Fusion will be licking my boots after seeing it!" He said cockily.

"Keep talking—HEY! MY NAME IS YUGO, DAMN IT!" Yugo yelled.

"Oh, shut up! You're gonna wear the gag out if you keep getting so high-strung about it!" Yuri cackled at him.

"What gag!? It's not a gag! Say my name right, damn it!" Yugo hissed.

"Could you two shut up? This match isn't just a match anymore, even if the crowd thinks it is," Yuto scolded, "I expect everybody to be performing to the best of their abilities!" He said sternly.

Yuri groaned and rolled his eyes, "Oh please, I still think this'll be a piece of cake," he said lazily, "It's JUST Soul! The guy who can barely take two steps without falling asleep!" He said.

"Yeah, and he basically solo'd his last two matches without breaking a sweat!" Yuto said, his frustration increasing (evidenced by his twitching eyebrow).

"He fought _cannon fodder_," Yuri said in a degrading tone, "we fought some actual threats, while he just fought some random nobodies." He finished.

"Regardless, we shouldn't let our guard down!" Yuto said, standing up straight and glaring at Yuri, "Treat it like a battlefield! If you let your guard down for a minute, you're dead."

"Ugh, Ol' Shun must be rubbing off on you," Yuri groaned, "If this was _really _a battlefield, I guarantee you that I'd be on the winning side, and I'd be easily sweeping my enemies aside, as if it were a game set to easy mode!" He jeered.

"So what? You're just not gonna try!?" Yuto yelled.

"Hey! Everybody stop fighting!" Yuya suddenly cut in.

Both Yuto and Yuri's eyes widened as they turned to look at Yuya, who was glaring at both of them.

"We're about to go out there, and you two are going at it worse than Yugo when somebody calls him Fusion!" Yuya scolded.

"I mean, I have a reason…" Yugo started to say before Yuya shot him a look and he shut up.

"Yuri, please try your hardest, this is an important match," Yuya said as he glanced at Yuri, "and Yuto, please calm down, you're the most responsible of us all, after all." He said while looking at Yuto.

Yuto and Yuri glanced at each other and sighed. "Alright fine, but only because you asked…" Yuri said as he sat down.

"Thanks, Yuya…" Yuto sighed as he sat down as well.

"_Dang… leave it to Yuya to resolve the situation when Yuto isn't available…" _Yugo thought to himself.

**End**

_~Special Bonus Scene!~_

_~Session of Madness - Part 1~_

Usually, parties consisted of four, maybe five people.

Eight people was a pretty large party, by that comparison, and it caused some trouble with the guards when they asked what their business was, but they had gotten into the town thanks to Yuri's godly charisma.

* * *

"You enter the town and see the local bar, an inn, a store that sells armor and weaponry, and various other houses where civilians live," Soul explained from behind the cardboard wall that separated him from everyone else at the table, "Nothing out of the ordinary seems to catch your eye, what would you like to do?" He asked.

The Yu-brothers and the Kurosaki Sisters sat at a large round table, with Soul sitting at the end, facing everyone. A large board-landscape stretched out on the table, and little figurines (made by Soul) in everybody's likeness stood on a part of the board where there was a small town.

"I say we go to the bar and ask around for any clues," Yuto suggested, "or the Inn, though I think the bar would yield better results."

"So long as I can get drunk!" Yuri said with a grin.

"What is with you and getting drunk…?" Serena asked.

Syrup entered the room and tilted her head in confusion, "What are you guys doing?" She asked.

"Dungeons & Demons, I found my old equipment so I asked if anybody wanted to have a session, and everybody said yes." Soul answered lazily.

"Oh! I've heard of that! It's a roleplaying game, right?" Syrup asked.

"Yeah! Though it's our first time, so we're all just playing as ourselves…" Yuya said with a grin.

"I've never DM'd a session of eight people before, though, so it's an unfamiliar experience…" Soul admitted.

"Mind if I watch?" Syrup asked.

"Sure, but don't throw up if I kill anything in a really gruesome way…" Yuri said ominously.

_**(DISCLAIMER FROM AUTHOR! I have never played D&D, I have only heard stories)**_

* * *

The group entered the bar, which was completely empty except for the bartender, who stood behind the table, cleaning a cup.

Yuto walked up to the bartender, the bartender raising an eyebrow at the sight of the heavily-armored individual, as well as the ominous black color Yuto had chosen for his appearance.

**Yuto**

**Race: Human**

**Class: Paladin**

**Weapon: Electric Greatsword**

"Good day!" Said Yuto, "Sorry, but do you mind answering some questions? See, there have been reports of women disappearing from nearby villages…" he started off.

The bartender cut him off rudely, "I got nothin' for ya!" The bartender said gruffly, "We don't take kindly to strangers, here! Ya want information? Pay up!" He declared.

* * *

"Wow, talk about rude…" Ruri mumbled.

"Guys, how much money do we have?" Yuya asked.

"I'm pretty sure we're broke, since Yuri spent all of our money on booze, which was then robbed by the way…" Rin sighed.

"Hm… I'm gonna kill him," Yuri said bluntly.

"Huh?" Said Yuzu.

"What?" Said Yugo.

"I cast fireball!" Yuri declared.

"Roll for magic…" Soul sighed.

"Wait! Yuri no!" Yuto yelled, "We need information! You can't just kill him! H-Heck, you just _can't _kill him!" He exclaimed.

"Ugh, you're no fun…" Yuri sighed, "Fine then, plan B!" He declared.

Yuri took out a slip of paper and scribbled something on it before passing it to Serena, who quickly read the contents of the note.

"Ah… I attack the bartender, aiming to knock him out." She said immediately.

"Roll for attack." Soul replied.

"Wait, WHAT!?" Yuto yelled.

"Serena, why!?" Yuzu exclaimed.

Serena ignored them and rolled the twenty-sided die, "I rolled 15…" she stated.

* * *

Serena, dressed in animal skin and fur and wielding a large scimitar with animal fur at the hilt, leapt up onto the table and drew her blade. Before the bartender could even react, she swung her blade and struck him in the back of his head with the flat side of her blade.

The bartender flopped to the ground, completely unconscious.

**Serena**

**Race: Human**

**Class: Berserker**

**Weapon: Beast-Fur Scimitar**

* * *

"What the heck, Serena!" Rin yelled.

"Alright, I did what you wanted," Serena said to Yuri, "now what's the plan?" She asked.

"Simple, I take him into the backroom and torture him until he gives us the information we need!" Yuri said cheerfully.

"Wait—torture!?" Yuya exclaimed.

"Yuri, what are you doing!?" Yuto slammed his hands on the table.

"We don't have any money, and he won't willingly give us information without money," Yuri explained, "I was originally gonna kill him and bring him back to life, but this might work better anyways…" he said casually.

"You can't do that!" Yuto yelled.

"Why not? Can I torture him, Soul?" Yuri asked.

"You can indeed do that, but be aware that his screams might attract the attention of the outside world," Soul pointed out.

"Alright, then I'll use a spell of silencing on him," Yuri declared, "Serena, come with me and bring any sharp object you can find!" He declared.

* * *

"Is… is that bartender going to be okay?" Yuya asked.

"I'm sure Yuri will keep him alive… but we might need Yuzu to heal him." Yugo sighed.

Yuzu sighed as she took out her staff, "Fine…" she groaned.

**Yuzu**

**Class: Priestess**

**Weapon: Holy Staff**

Suddenly, Yuri kicked down the door, dragging the bartender behind him.

The bartender immediately scrambled to his feet, "Get that madman away from me!" He yelled.

"Madman? Why, I feel insulted…" Yuri said with a playful grin.

"EEK!" The bartender yelled.

Serena walked out of the room with a sigh, "Seriously, we didn't use any of my weapons… why did you even have me there?" She asked.

"Turns out, mental torture worked best!" Yuri cackled, "Anyway, I got all the info we need, so somebody do me a solid and tie him up, okay?" He said in a sickly-sweet voice.

After binding and gagging the bartender, the group quickly left the bar.

"So, what did you find out?" Ruri asked.

"It was pretty cliche, actually," Yuri said with a grin, "turns out, the disappearing girls have been getting kidnapped by a group of bandits, but the surprising part is that those bandits are being led by a dragon of all things!" He explained.

"Alright, do we know where to go?" Yuto asked.

"Yup, he gave me a location, and I stole all of the cash he had on him, so I suggest we buy some potions and shit." Yuri said casually.

"I actually need some money for a new bundle of arrows!" Ruri spoke up.

"I need a new spear! Mine is looking like it's about to break…" said Yugo.

"I need to get my sword repaired! I've been fighting with it broken for a while now!" Yuya exclaimed.

"I proper Katana would be nice…" Rin suggested.

**Yuri**

**Race: Human**

**Class: Wizard**

**Weapon: Malevolent Staff**

**Ruri**

**Race: Human**

**Class: Archer**

**Weapon: Avian Bow**

**Yugo**

**Race: Human**

**Class: Rider (Pegasus Familiar)**

**Weapon: Longspear**

**Yuya**

**Race: Dragonborne-Human**

**Class: Warrior**

**Weapon: Enchanted Fireblade**

**Rin**

**Race: Human**

**Class: Assassin**

**Weapon: Katana**

"Alright, everyone gets an equal amount, and be back here before sundown!" Yuri declared.

* * *

"I'm surprised you went with something other than human…" Yuzu muttered as she looked at Yuya's character.

"Well, I'm still part-human…" Yuya chuckled.

Yuri's character was dressed in purple robes and had the typical "wizard" look. Ruri was dressed in a rustic-themed tunic adorned with colorful feathers, and wielded a large bow. Yugo was dressed in light, white armor and used a long spear and large shield, and he could summon a pegasus to his side whenever he needed it.

Meanwhile, Yuzu was dressed in white robes with pink outlines, and used a long golden staff with pink jewels at the end. Yuya wore red armor, but he mostly didn't need it because his race gave him powerful red scales at his arms, as well as around his neck and cheeks. Rin, meanwhile, went for a traditional japanese-style look with a white and green kimono that went short at the skirt, and it went well with her weapon-of-choice.

"Wow! All of your characters are so creative!" Syrup exclaimed.

"Heh, thanks!" Yuya grinned.

"Oh crap, look at the time…" Soul muttered.

Yuya looked up at the clock above Soul's head and his eyes widened, "Oh crap, it's almost midnight!" He exclaimed.

"Man, time really flew by…" Yuri sighed.

"Let's postpone today's session for now… I'm gonna go to sleep now…" Soul sighed before his head dropped and slammed down on the table.

Everybody looked at him in concern, but they all let out a sigh of relief when they heard his snores.

_**~{END}~**_

**So my friend has been telling me about his most recent obsession, Dungeons & Dragons. I personally don't have any time, so I haven't played any myself, so I know pretty much nothing about how the game is actually played. But I watched a lot of story videos on it, and TV shows have done little short episodes based on the game before (Take Netflix's Voltron, for example)**

**Anyways, enough about the Special Bonus Scene! SEVENTH SEASON IS ANNOUNCED!**

**And… I'm slightly disappointed?**

**I dunno, the art-style has changed, and it doesn't feel like Yugioh… it feels more like Buddyfight, honestly.**

**But, I kept an open mind and kept watching… and Rush Duels? Ummmm… those are almost completely identical to the playground-rules I used back in Elementary School during Recess (Draw 5, three monster and spell zones, absolutely no limits to normal summoning, yada yada…).**

**But, I shall STILL keep an open mind! His name is Yuga, huh? Well, Buddyfight did it first… but whatever! I'm sure he's a cool character…**

**He's eleven, the youngest protagonist ever… everybody in this show is an elementary school student.**

**Aight, I know they're still going to, bur rule34 better keep its hands off of the new girl (SHE ISN'T EVEN A TEENAGER YET), who's cool, I guess.**

**Oh, so he builds stuff? Neat, but why does he specifically call them "Roads"?**

**So what's his ace? Sevens Road Magician… I, uhh… it's definitely… unique? Is that a good way to describe it? But 2100 attack? Yeesh…**

**Well, it looks goofy, so I'll keep an open mind… and hope that this 11 year-old kid doesn't go through much… suffering like the other protagonists did…**

**(Flashbacks of Late-GX, Zexal Season 2, some of Arc-V, and like ALL of Vrains)**

***shudders***

**Anyway, see you next time!**

**(ALSO HAPPY 2020 LETS GOOOO—)**


	20. Chapter 20: Enough Edge For Ya?

**The SECOND I get out of a writer's block, I'm suddenly a writing god? Seriously, I've been waiting to get to this plot point for a LONG time now (And this chapter is pretty long as well…).**

**So, the words just started spilling out, and now we have a chapter earlier than expected.**

**Oh, I'm also learning how to draw anime-style now. I can only draw faces and necks at a front view, but just you wait! First I'll be able to draw at different angles, then I'll be able to draw full bodies, then I'll be able to do THOSE at different angles, and THEN I'll be able to do poses! AND THEN I'LL BE ABLE TO DRAW CLOTHES INSTEAD OF JUST FRAMES!**

**Basically, I'm practicing drawing whenever I'm not writing/doing schoolwork so that one day I'll be able to draw my own fanart.**

**Anyway, LET'S START THIS CHAPTER, WOO!**

**Chapter 20: Enough Edge for Ya?**

"_Messiah… its direct definition is: __a leader or savior of a particular group or cause," _Soul thought, "_It's said that the type of monsters that a duelist can use represents the person on a very deep level…" _his thoughts echoed in his mind.

Soul walked inside a dark void, moving forward but going nowhere.

"It's all bullshit if you ask me…" Soul said out loud, his voice echoing through the endless expanse of darkness, "Perhaps our monsters represent the opposite of what we are? Maybe they symbolize the personality that we show on the outside, but are the opposite of our true selves…" he thought out loud.

"If so… then my monsters fit me perfectly," Soul said as he stopped walking and looked down at his hands, "My Blade-Messiah's are saviors, they lead people to safety, to a new future… but I'm not anything like that… I lead people to despair, and I halt future's in their tracks…" he said as his hand trembled.

"I destroyed my family's home… and I ended a life that had hardly even experienced life," he said as he clenched his fist, "I killed Cahya…" he sighed.

He looked up, and a golden wisp of light in the shape of a dragon's head was looking him in the eye.

"You're my power, I've accepted that," Soul said firmly, "and I've decided that the world would be better off without you, or me…" he said as he glared into the sharp, green eyes that hovered inside the gold wisp.

The wisp's green eyes narrowed for an instant before looking him in the eye again.

A soft growl resounded from the wisp before it slowly flickered and vanished, leaving Soul alone.

* * *

Soul woke up, his eyes snapping open.

He was sitting in the waiting room, and he had gotten too comfortable while he was leaning against the wall and had fallen asleep.

He had woken up right on time. "_Challenger Soul, please make your way to the pitch…" _a robotic voice rang in Soul's ears.

He looked up and noticed that he had decided to sleep right underneath the speaker that informed teams when their match was about to begin, which explained why it was so loud this time around.

"Alright, let's get this over with…" Soul sighed as he walked towards the door that led to the arena where he would fight for the last time.

* * *

"_Introducing the team that has been taking the tournament by storm, the team of first-year brothers… The Sakaki's!" _Melissa declared, yelling into her microphone.

Her commentary did what it was meant to do, and it got the crowd screaming in excitement as Yuya entered first with a series of backflips, before landing perfectly on his feet and flashing the crowd a wide smile.

"Of course, Yuya _has _to make the flashiest entrance ever…" Yuri chuckled as he walked out with Yugo and Yuto behind him.

"It's Yuya! What did you expect?" Yugo said with a grin.

"Eyes up you two, here comes Soul…" Yuto said sharply.

"_And opposing them… Soul Messoran!" _Melissa's voice echoed out of the many loudspeakers in the stadium, "_Due to an unfortunate accident, Syrup Maple is unable to join us… but Soul has assured us that she will return and that he will be sure to win in her place!" _She declared.

"With all of the reporters swarming me about it, I just said whatever I needed to say…" Soul grumbled.

"Tch, look at him…" Yuri growled, "I dunno if he's being cocky or he's just tired…" he clicked his tongue.

Soul's face remained emotionless as he walked to his position on the field, facing the Yu-boys on the other side.

A screen appeared in front of Soul and he sighed, "Well, it's one versus four, so of course I'm picking the field again. What a pain…" he groaned.

One field, however, caught his eye.

_Action Field: ON_

_Unlimited Blade Castle, activate!_

The robotic voice called out the name of the field, and the sky turned into a Dusk Orange, and the sun changed into a bright green color.

It was all Real Solid Vision, but damn did it look real.

Dark clouds formed in the sky, almost obscuring the sun and giving the orange sky a darker shade. The floor changed into a dusty, dirt-covered landscape with bits of metal sticking out of the ground. Sometimes a sword would be sticking out, other times a gear, sometimes it was just random sheets of metal.

A crystal appeared behind Yuya, hovering above the ground. "Hey, I know it's four on one, but isn't this a little crazy?" Yugo asked.

Yuya's eyes widened as he turned back towards Soul, and his brothers reacted the same way.

An enormous castle, covered in giant rotating gears, had risen from the ground. Soul stood at the top, his crystal mounted at the tip of the castle, covered in black and gold-colored metal.

"Damn, this is pretty high up…" Soul chuckled.

"Well… I guess it's only fair to offer him an advantage like that!" Yuri said confidently.

"Is anybody else getting a little nervous?" Asked Yuya.

"I think 'intimidated' is the right word here…" Yugo answered.

"Don't falter! It's just a castle! We're only after Soul, and then the crystal at the top!" Yuto declared.

Yuya, however, suddenly had the full weight of this fight's importance crashing down on him. "Oh man… can I do this…?" He muttered.

"Hey! Look over here! Hey! LOOK, DAMN IT!"

"Serena! Please!"

"What? They weren't noticing us! The entire point of this was to encourage them, and we can't encourage them if they can't—Oh! I think they heard us!"

All four boys looked at each other, briefly shooting looks that ranged somewhere between confusion and disbelief.

So they all collectively nodded at each other before turning around.

Yuto stumbled forward, almost falling over, Yugo ended up so startled that he started choking on his spit, Yuri's eyes widened, and Yuya's jaw dropped.

"_Oh god, Shun's gonna kill somebody…" _Yuto thought.

"Ah… so they finished it on time…" Soul muttered.

"Yuto, stop staring…!" Yuri muttered, "You've got your mouth hanging open like an idiot…!" Yuri hissed at him.

"Sure, I'll stop when you stop…!" Yuto hissed back.

"I'm dreaming, right? They wouldn't do something like _this… _not for us, right?" Yugo asked (after catching his breath).

"I mean… the only other explanation is that we somehow got transported to another dimension that's completely identical to ours… but the females in our lives are much bolder…" Yuya replied.

The girls, rather than sit at their usual seats with Sora and Gongenzaka, had come as close to the stadium that the spectator-stands would allow them: right up to the railing.

But the unbelievable part was what they were _wearing. _It seemed ridiculous, honestly, to the boys that something like this could exist.

Each girl was dressed in a different-colored cheerleader outfit, but the twist was that each outfit had been customized… with each of the boy's dragons as the theme, and the letters YU emblazoned on the front of the top.

Ruri stood with a carefree, airheaded smile on her face, seemingly not embarrassed in the slightest. The basic cheerleader skirt and top (plus the black and purple pom-poms) were colored the same color of black as Yuto's Dark Rebellion, with purple lines running along with the design. Attached to the outfit, however, were certain traits that Dark Rebellion shared. On her back, Dark Rebellion-style wings spread out behind her with thin lines on the end that connected the ends of the wings to her wrists, so that the wings would move with her arms (they were too big and long to go without extra support along the body).

Lastly, a long, dark-purple tail that looked exactly like Dark Rebellion's tail was attached to the back of her skirt, where it curled upward so that it didn't drag on the floor, and on her head was a custom-made headband that mimicked Dark Rebellion's horns, and stretched down her face to look like black scales on her cheeks.

Rin's cheeks were pink with embarrassment, her lips were pouting ever-so-slightly, and her arms were crossed nervously around the bottom of her stomach, but she still waved nervously at Yugo. Her outfit was white with light-green lines, with hints of light-blue here and there. She carried pom-poms like Ruri, except they were the same white and green colors as her outfit. On the back of her outfit's top were wings that were completely identical to Yugo's Clear Wing, although unlike the actual dragon, they weren't see-through. Unlike Ruri's wings, they weren't long enough to require any extra support, so they were like the fairy wings you would see on a child's fairy costume. There was also a white tail just like Clear Wing's attached to the back of the skirt, which finished the look.

Like Ruri, she wore a custom-made headband to mimic the blue horns at the top and side of Clear Wing's head, as well as making it look like there were white scales near her cheeks.

Serena, like Ruri, seemed to not be bothered so much by the costume, which was evidenced by her completely straight-face she was sporting. Like her sisters, though, she was wearing a cheerleader outfit that was colored with the same pinkish-purple as Yuri's Starving Venom, along with sickly-green lines that also matched Starving Venom. Pom-pom's of the same purple and green colors adorned her hands, and models of Starving Venom's wings were attached to her back, while a Starving Venom tail was attached to the back of her skirt. It was honestly quite surprising how detailed the wings were since they were essentially mouths, but it had been done quite splendidly.

Serena also wore a custom headband like Ruri and Rin, though hers were much more eccentric, as it had Starving Venom's two large horns at her head and two smaller ones near the bottom of her jaw to help with giving the costume Starving Venom's predatorial appearance.

Then, there was the ever-blushing Yuzu.

Her face was as red as her cheerleader outfit, which was red with beige lines that matched the color of Odd-Eyes' horns, and she held two pom-poms, one red and the other green. On her back were the same crescent-shaped horns on Odd-Eyes' back, adorned with red and green plastic orbs that had been fancied-up to look like actual gems. Her outfit was finished off with the red Odd-Eyes tail and the horn-headband that looked just like the horns on Odd-Eyes' head, along with the nice addition of a blue "gemstone" in the center.

Yuzu also wore eye contacts to change the color of her eyes for this, since one of Odd-Eyes' defining traits is its eyes. Her left eye was bright green, while her right was the same red color as Yuya's own eyes.

So, in that order, the girl's feelings were:

Ruri: Carefree

Rin: Embarrassed

Serena: Nonchalant

Yuzu: About-to-die-of-embarrassment

"D-Don't stare!" Yuzu exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around herself, her face burning intensely.

"Come on! We did this as a one-time treat for them, it'd be a shame if they didn't appreciate it!" Ruri pouted, seemingly unaware of why Yuzu (or anybody for that matter) might be embarrassed about the level of skin exposure.

The outfits were sleeveless, so their arms were bare, and of course, their stomachs were revealed since it was a cheerleader outfit. They had forgotten to make proper boots for the costumes, though, and the only shoes that they had would clash with the outfit. Ruri had then come up with the idea of going out barefoot, which they had tried to stop, but she had already dashed out of the room without shoes, and by the time they had caught up to her, they were already at the stadium.

The skirt wasn't too much of a problem for Yuzu, though, since she already wore short skirts daily. Serena, however, didn't like to wear skirts and was itching to get back into shorts.

"C-Come on! We're dressed as cheerleaders, so we should cheer them on, right?" Rin said to Yuzu.

"Hnnnngh…!" Yuzu moaned, expressing her frustration, "Oh, fine!" She exclaimed.

"Good luck, you four!" Ruri cheered.

"Lose and I won't forgive you!" Rin yelled.

"Don't be an idiot and maybe you won't lose!" Serena called out.

"You better win! We aren't doing anything like this ever again! You hear me!" Yuzu exclaimed, waving her pom-pom-covered fists angrily in the air.

"Crap… I don't have anything to take a picture with…!" Yugo groaned in frustration.

Yuya stared for a moment before smiling, "Thanks! You guys are the best!" He shouted back, "You look great, by the way!" He yelled.

Yuzu's face flushed again, while Ruri waved happily, "Thanks! We worked hard on these!" Ruri yelled back.

_Meanwhile…_

Shun preferred to watch things like this from the TV since he didn't particularly like crowds.

"Hey, aren't those your sisters, Kurosaki?" Sawatari chimed as he entered the room and saw the TV, "Dang, they're pretty cute! Those outfits are something—" he started to speak.

Shun's head slowly turned towards Sawatari, a dark and menacing aura emanating off of him as he glared at Sawatari.

"Eep! Sorry!" Sawatari yelped.

Shun slowly walked up to Sawatari, who stood frozen in place (likely out of fear for what would happen if he dared to run) as Shun's hands slammed down on his shoulders.

"_Do not watch this match," _Shun growled, "_If you do, I will suffocate you in your sleep…!" _He said menacingly.

At that, Shun immediately grabbed the remote and shut off the TV, before promptly storming out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

"Ah… aha!" Sawatari laughed as he fell to his knees, "Why the hell did we have to put the insane Siscon-Brother on this team…!" He wheezed.

Meanwhile, Shun had already gotten out of the hotel and was dashing at full-speed towards the stadium (he would have gotten a taxi, but he had a look on his face that scared everyone away from him). "Those girls…! After I've killed every guy that's seen them in those things, they're going to hear from me…!" He hissed to himself.

As he said this, Yuto's entire body instinctively shuddered, "Oh god, I hope Shun doesn't know about this…" he muttered.

"By the way, are you sure Brother doesn't know about this?" Rin asked, "I don't think he would approve of something like this…" she mumbled.

"Oh! I'm sure we'll be fine!" Ruri said nonchalantly, "He hardly ever watches anything on TV, and he hates crowds, so I doubt he'd know about this!" She explained.

"Hm, a lot of guys are staring at us, though," Serena pointed out, "Are these outfits that good-looking? Maybe I'll wear it again… but I'm gonna ditch the skirt." She spoke out loud.

"Serena! Aren't you embarrassed!? In any way!?" Yuzu exclaimed.

"No? It's just clothes, sure it looks nice, but what's embarrassing about it?" She asked.

"Don't bother," Rin sighed, "Remember, Serena's sense of shame is an on-and-off sort of thing. Only certain things will embarrass her, like wearing a fancy dress, but partial skin-exposure has _never _bothered her…" she reminded Yuzu.

"But I've seen her get embarrassed about stuff like this before!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"Her shame might kick in later, who knows?" Rin replied.

"_Alright, Duelists! Are you ready!" _Melissa's voice boomed through the stadium.

Yuya, Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri each nodded as they turned back to face Soul, who did the same thing.

"_Then… 3! 2! 1! DUEL!" _She declared.

A barrier formed around the Yu-boys and their crystal, preventing them from leaving. "I'm at a disadvantage with numbers, so I'm given a head start…" Soul said before leaping off his perch at the top of the crystal, "Come! Burning Blade-Messiah, Clyde!" Soul said calmly as he fell.

A burst of orange light surrounded him as he landed on the ground, creating a cloud of dust where he landed. Instead of Soul, the red-armored warrior wielding a large greatsword stood in his place.

"Crap, how long does this thing stay up!" Yugo cursed as he banged his fists against the inside of the barrier.

Soul shot forward, clearing the distance between him and the boys in an instant, and while the invisible wall around the boys remained active as well.

"_Shit!" _Yuto cursed, "Yuya! Cover the crystal!" He shouted.

"_The amount of time that the barrier remains up depends on the difference in team members," _Soul thought, "_Usually it's me and Syrup, but without her here, I'm given enough time to get close…!" _

In that instant, the barrier vanished, and Soul swung his large greatsword down—with one hand, by the way—as it surrounded itself in flames.

Suddenly, a flash of red, green, and blue light erupted as Yuto and Yuya transformed. Yuya (Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon) immediately stood in front of the crystal defensively while Yuto (Dark Rebellion) reared his head and roared.

A burst of purple electricity discharged in every direction, originating from Yuto. "Tch…" Soul clicked his tongue as he retreated in the other direction.

"Electricity is hard to dodge, damn it…" Soul muttered as he skidded to a halt after going a decent distance away, smoke rising off of him as small bits of electricity sparked and crackled around him.

Timegazer and Stargazer floated next to Yuya, a blue barrier protecting the crystal. "Geez, if I hadn't brought out Timegazer and Stargazer fast enough, you would've damaged the crystal!" Yuya sighed.

"Sorry, there weren't a lot of options," Yuto apologized, "but he's not near the crystal anymore, so we can fight him now!" He declared.

Soul's eyes widened as he realized that only Yuya and Yuto were at the crystal, "Wait, where are the other two…?" He muttered as his eyes darted from side to side.

"**Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" **

Soul turned around immediately and raised his weapon defensively, just barely managing to block Yugo (Clear Wing) as he charged him from behind. The green wind whipped around Yugo's spinning body, and Soul could feel the high-speed gales slicing at him.

Soul thrusted the flat end of his weapon forward, knocking Yugo back before jumping into the air and swinging his blade, sending a wave of fire back down at him.

Suddenly, Yuri (Starving Venom) flew in front of the attack and shielded Yugo, taking seemingly no damage from the fire. "You're a fast one, aren't you!" Yuri cackled as his wings opened up and countless purple roots spread out from them, firing multiple beams of green energy at Soul while he was in the air.

"Shining Blade-Messiah, Jasmine!" Soul yelled, transforming into a young brunette girl with long, wavy hair and a flowing white dress underneath plates of white armor, a rapier held in her hands. Soul rapidly thrust the rapier forward, a beam of light firing from the tip every time he finished a thrust and sending beams of light to clash against the ones Yuri had fired.

Suddenly, he noticed the light around him dim, and he immediately twisted around to see Yuya (Odd-Eyes) above him.

"When did he…?" Soul cursed.

Soul quickly brought his hands up to guard as Yuya (Odd-Eyes) spun and brought his tail down on him, knocking Soul down to the ground.

Soul recovered immediately and scanned his surroundings, only to find that the task was hard thanks to the cloud of dust that had been kicked up by his rough landing.

Soul suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, and he immediately turned around and raised his rapier to attack as Yuto (Dark Rebellion) burst through the cloud of dust, electricity violently crackling around him and his fang.

"**Revolt of the Lightning, Disobey!" **Yuto yelled as he rushed forward, "**Piercing Ray!" **Soul yelled as he thrust the rapier forward, the tip of his blade clashing against the tip of Yuto's fang.

Purple electricity burst violently around Yuto, while blinding light shone around Soul, the two different elements clashing at the tip of Yuto's (Dark Rebellion's) fang and Soul's (Jasmine's) Rapier.

Finally, the clash ended with a large burst of light and electricity, blowing both Soul and Yuto away from each other.

Soul skidded to a halt and looked up, seeing all four dragons surrounding him from all sides, while Yuya's magicians were the only ones at their crystal.

"All four at once? That's new…" Soul grumbled.

"_What's this? It seems that Team Sakaki has decided to completely focus on Soul! Isn't that a little risky…?" _Melissa's voice boomed.

"Tell me about it…" Yuri grumbled.

"Charge! Don't let him rest! Keep up the pressure!" Yuto (Dark Rebellion) roared as he charged at Soul again.

"Damn it, who made Sir Numb-Nuts the leader!?" Yuri (Starving Venom) cursed as he swung around, his tail extending toward Soul with the intent of skewering him.

"**Spiral Flame Strike!" **Yuya (Odd-Eyes) declared, rearing his head and letting loose his signature stream of spiraling flames.

"**Dichroic Mirror!" **Yugo (Clear Wing) yelled as his wings shone and fired a stream of light at Soul.

"Earthly Blade-Messiah, Tsuchi!" Soul yelled, transforming into the large brown-armored warrior equipped with a naginata. Soul spun his weapon before slamming it into the ground, causing the ground around him to rise and turn into a wall that surrounded him.

Yugo and Yuya's attacks blew the wall away, but when Yuto and Yuri's tail reached the area, Soul wasn't there.

"Above! Damn it!" Yugo cursed as he suddenly darted into the sky.

Yuya looked up to see Soul far above them with an orange card in his hand. "Tempest Blade-Messiah, Eku!" Soul transformed, turning into the green-clad female ninja with two Kunai's connected with chains.

"**Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" **Yugo (Clear Wing) roared as he spun and charged at Soul.

"Tempest Tornado!" Soul (Eku) declared as he spun the kunai around, causing a large tornado to form underneath her.

Yugo (Clear Wing) charged forward in an attempt to push through the wind, only to be effectively slowed down as he continued to move against the wind.

Meanwhile, Yuto (Dark Rebellion) flew alongside the tornado, following its rotation and catapulting himself to Soul's altitude.

"**Treason Discharge!" **Yuto yelled as electricity crackled violently around his wings before shooting at Soul in an attempt to bind him.

"Thundering Blade-Messiah, Volta!" Soul yelled as his form changed into the yellow-robed warrior holding a long yellow katana.

With a single swing of his weapon, Soul (Volta) _smacked _the electricity away with his blade, which crackled with its own electricity.

Yugo, however, no longer had to deal with a tornado and was now barreling towards Soul. "I've got you!" Yugo roared as he rushed at Soul.

Soul, however, simply twisted around and landed on Yugo's (Clear Wing's) back, and jumped off of him, heading straight down towards their crystal.

"Crap…!" Yugo cursed.

"Shadow Blade-Messiah, Reaper!" Soul declared as he transformed into the cloaked warrior, wielding an enormous scythe, and coming down on the crystal.

"Rune-Eyes! **Unending Shiny Burst!" **

Soul whipped around only to see countless streams of light coming his way. "Tch…!" Soul clicked his tongue as he spun his scythe around at high speed, slashing at every beam of light and holding his ground.

Yuya had transformed into Rune-Eyes and was currently pressuring Soul with an endless stream of attacks. "Yuri! Now!" He yelled.

Soul suddenly looked to his right to see one of Yuri's mouth-wings extended out and coming at him, "Crap, I can't dodge…!" Soul cursed, as he was completely immobilized from defending against Yuya.

The mouth latched onto Soul, yanking him away from the stream of lasers and dragging him into the air.

"Take the shot! Yuya!" Yuri (Starving Venom) yelled.

"Descend! Beast-Eyes!" Yuya yelled as he changed into Beast-Eyes and leaped into the air, flames forming around him, "**Helldive Burst!" **He roared, blasting an enormous ball of fire at Soul.

Soul slashed at Yuri's wing, finally getting the mouth to lose its grip on him… but it was too late.

"_Crap… these guys are completely in sync…!" _Soul thought, "_They'd been fighting separately during the last matches, but now it's all four of them focusing on one person, me…!" _

Meanwhile, Syrup laid in her hospital bed with her eyes closed to make it seem like she was sleeping.

But what she was actually doing, was focusing.

"It's happening… my turn is gonna come up soon…" Syrup mumbled to herself, "the moment Soul is weakened… I'll make my move then…!"

* * *

"I have to ask, what's your motivation for this?" Sora asked as he passed along a small flash drive to the masked figure.

"My motivation is none of your business," the man replied harshly, "just do your job, kid…" he growled.

"Man, cold!" Sora said teasingly.

Sora stood in a dark alleyway, yet again, talking to the same masked-man from before.

"Anything else to report?" The man asked.

"Nope, so you can go along and do whatever it is you do!" Sora replied with a cheeky smile.

The man glared at him, but nodded and left silently.

"Man, he must be fun at parties…" Sora muttered as he looked down at his watch, "Oh! Yuya's match is right now, isn't it? I might as well pass some time somehow!" He said to himself as he turned around and walked toward the wall at the end of the alleyway.

Sora grinned and jumped, jumping from wall to wall until making his way up to the roof of the two buildings, landing perfectly on his feet before casually walking forward.

"Heh, too bad nobody could see me do that…" Sora said with a grin.

* * *

"…**Helldive Burst!" **

The ball of fire collided with Soul, a large explosion erupting around him.

"Did we get him!?" Yugo (Clear Wing) yelled as he flew back to the ground.

Immediately after Yugo's question, a figure dressed in blue flew out of the ball of smoke that floated above them.

"Of course he's still fine…" Yuto grumbled.

"Water Blade-Messiah, Aqua…!" Soul grunted as he twisted his body around, landing and skidding on the ground before coming to a halt.

Soul sighed as his transformation faded, leaving him on the field in his normal look, with four dragons' eyes completely locked on him.

"Four people at once… my attention is divided a lot more than I thought it would be…" Soul sighed, "although, it might just be that you guys are pretty strong as well…" he admitted.

"Oh? We appreciate the compliments…" Yuri (Starving Venom) grinned, "You're a slight challenge yourself! But we'd appreciate it if you transformed, it's no fun to eat when your food isn't fighting back…" he said with a sadistic tone.

Yuto glanced at Yuri, and Yuri glanced back.

"_What the hell was that threat!?"_

"_Don't look at me like that! Everybody knows you get scarier when they think you're mentally unstable!"_

While Yuto and Yuri shot looks at each other, however, Soul was taking long and deep breaths.

"Alright… let's focus…" Soul sighed as he clapped his hands together, "Blade-Messiah Wolfhound!" He suddenly yelled.

"Shit…!" Yuto cursed.

"Here it comes…" Yuri sighed.

Suddenly, Yugo was gone.

And then they saw the flash of orange light.

Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri each turned around in shock, "When did he…!?" Yuya gasped.

"Graagh…! Get off me!" Yugo (Clear Wing) cursed as he thrashed around on the ground.

On top of him was a large grey-furred wolf adorned in armor that shined a bright-gold color and had bright cyan lines running along and curving around the strange glowing metal, giving it a mystical appearance. Armor covered its head like a crown, as well as it's entire body up until it's tail, and that same armor was on its feet as boots.

It had latched onto Yugo (Clear Wing) and had its jaw clamped down on one of his wings, it's armored claws scratching at Yugo's (Clear Wing's) white scales.

Yugo's wings shone as Yugo pushed himself off of the ground, taking both him and Soul (Wolfhound) into the sky.

"Damn it…! Get off!" Yugo (Clear Wing) yelled as he tilted his head backward and flipped around, pointing his body towards the ground. "**Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" **He roared as he charged at the ground with Soul still firmly attached to his chest.

"Is he trying to crash into the ground with Soul!?" Yuya exclaimed.

"Wait! Yugo! Don't be stupid!" Yuto yelled.

Yugo didn't hear them and continued to barrel towards the ground, and just as he was about to hit the ground, Soul (Wolfhound) released its hold and jumped away from the large white dragon.

"What!?" Yugo exclaimed.

The world seemed to move in slow motion as the inside of Soul's (Wolfhound's) mouth glowed, a gold-colored, glowing longsword appearing in his mouth as the air under his feet suddenly glowed and became a platform for Soul to launch himself off of.

"_Divine Beast Slash…!" _Soul (Wolfhound) thought as he launched off of the platform with his hind legs, passing Yugo as he slashed him once with the blade in his mouth before landing on the ground nearby.

"AGH!" Yugo (Clear Wing) cried out as an explosion erupted around him, originating from the area where Soul had slashed him.

And then, he hit the ground.

Another explosion of dust rose into the air from where Yugo collided with the ground, covering the entire field in a thick, brown smokescreen.

"Shit… that idiot…!" Yuto (Dark Rebellion) cursed as he swung around in an attempt to find Soul. It was to no avail, however, and he only saw a thick layer of brown dust from all sides.

"_If we can't see, Soul could easily move past us and attack our crystal…!" _Yuya panicked.

Yuri seemed to have thought the same thing because suddenly both Yuya and Yuto could see a green light starting to intensify near them.

"GET DOWN!" Yuri screamed.

Yuya and Yuto's eyes widened as they immediately lunged forward, undoing their transformations and turning back to normal as they hit the ground and laid flat on the ground, their hands over their heads.

"_PREDATOR HUNTING!" _Yuri screamed as countless green lasers suddenly shot in every direction.

The dust cloud was immediately blown away, Yuri was revealed to have his wings completely spread out, and countless beams of green light were now flying in every direction around him.

"AHHHH!" Yuya panicked as the lasers flew above him, just barely missing him sometimes.

"DAMN IT YURIIIII!" Yuto screamed angrily as he flattened himself to the ground.

Soul was revealed to still be transformed into Wolfhound and had been dashing towards the crystal defended by Yuya's magicians. Upon Yuri's attack, however, he had switched to evasive maneuvers only to be struck by multiple beams and falling to the ground.

"Guh…!" Soul gasped.

Yugo, meanwhile, was still transformed into Clear Wing, but he was also limp in the center of a large crater, which kept him out of the laser's path.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Yuri (Starving Venom) cackled, "TAKE THIS! TAKE THAT! **DIE YOU **_**MONGRELS**_**!" **He screamed as beams of light struck every part of the arena.

"Crap! Yuri's lost it…!" Yuto yelled.

"WHAT!?" Yuya screamed.

"I SAID THAT YURI'S LOST IT—" Yuto tried to yell again, only to be interrupted by a beam that struck the ground next to Yuto, and it was a little too close for comfort.

Meanwhile, the girls were staring at the scene in a mixture of disbelief, shock, surprise, and amusement (Only in Serena's case).

"I… I thought they were _kidding _when they said that Yuri was a little unhinged!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"Oh, he's usually fine," Serena said with an amused grin on her face, "he just goes a little crazy if he gets too excited… or a little too bloodlusted…" she said nonchalantly.

"Excuse me, did you just say _bloodlusted_?" Rin asked.

"Yup. I bet he's grinning like an idiot right now." Serena replied.

The lasers finally reached both team's crystals, and a few beams struck the barrier that Yuya's magicians had put up, and a few had also struck Soul's crystal as well.

"YURI! YOU'RE HITTING THE CRYSTALS! OURS AS WELL!" Yuya panicked.

Suddenly, Yugo (Clear Wing) began to move a little bit… before his eyes snapped open and glared at Yuri.

"Damn it… CUT IT OUT ALREADY YOU MASSIVE DICK!" Yugo suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs as he shot out of his crater with his wings glowing furiously.

"Wait—YUGO GET DOWN!" Yuto yelled.

"**DICHROIC MIRROR, DAMN IT!" **Yugo roared as a small stream of light fired from his wings in Yuri's direction.

Before anything could even hit Yugo, the small beam struck Yuri (Starving Venom) square in the face, and the rain of deadly lasers ended.

"Hey… what the hell was that for!" Yuri suddenly yelled.

"YOU WENT _FUCKING_ INSANE AGAIN, DAMN IT!" Yugo screamed back.

"Yugo! Watch your language! Kids are watching!" Yuya yelled angrily.

"Yeah, watch your fucking language!" Yuri yelled at Yugo.

"YURI!" Yuya screeched.

Yuto breathed a sigh of relief as he got up and brushed the dirt off of his shirt, "Geez… such a handful…" he sighed.

Suddenly, the sound of metal clashing against metal rang in Yuto's ears, and he immediately transformed back into Dark Rebellion.

Yuya did the same and turned back into Odd-Eyes, his head whipped around to see Yuri (Starving Venom) clashing against Soul (Wolfhound).

"Damn it, you're still up…!?" Yuri (Starving Venom) cursed as he used the tip of his tail (which had extended to stretch to be in front of Yuri) to block the blade in Soul's (Wolfhound's) mouth.

Yuri (Starving Venom) parried the blade away and lunged forward to slash him with his claws, only for Soul to dodge by jumping into the air and landing on his back, immediately launching off of Yuri and sending Yuri down to the ground.

"Damn it! He's ridiculously faster now!" Yugo yelled as he charged forward and clashed against Soul. Soul (Wolfhound) clashed his weapon on Yugo's head, and both of them flew a fair distance away from each other, with Soul landing on his feet and skidding to a halt while Yugo quickly righted his balance and shook his head in exhaustion.

Yuto (Dark Rebellion) flew at Soul with electricity crackling around his fang, "Back me up!" He yelled at Yuri as he flew.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Yuri (Starving Venom) yelled as he got to his feet and shot a beam of purple energy at Soul from his mouth.

Soul (Wolfhound) dodged the beam and ran at Yuto (Dark Rebellion), his blade clashing against Yuto's fang before sliding backward and repeating the action.

Yuto desperately defended, using his wings and fang to fight back against Soul's barrage of slashes, which were incredibly fast, despite the blade being wielded by a four-legged monster in its mouth.

"_Keh… what the hell is this…?" _Yuto thought as he felt another strike bounce off his wing, "_It's taking everything I have just to defend! The power gap between Soul earlier, and Soul now… it's way too wide! Has he only just now started to fight seriously!?"_

Yuto searched desperately for an opening, a chance to strike, but Soul's guard was seemingly unbreakable, and Yuto could hardly focus while fending off so many strikes.

"_It's about time I end this…" _Soul thought as he landed on the ground and immediately took a different stance.

"_Killing Slash of the Merciless Beast…" _Soul whispered.

In a single instant, Soul leaped forward and slashed Yuto (Dark Rebellion) once, landing behind him.

From Yuto's perspective, however, he saw a flash of red, and then Soul was gone.

A massive crack suddenly appeared on Yuto's (Dark Rebellion's) chest, and a roar of pain shot from Yuto's lungs as he fell forward.

"Yuto!" Yuya yelled.

"_One down, three to go…" _Soul thought as he turned his head away from the black-scaled dragon.

Suddenly, Yuto's (Dark Rebellion's) eyes flashed as he moved his large leg forward and caught himself before he fell, making a loud stomp as he turned on that foot to face Soul.

'Tch… this is nothing…" Yuto wheezed as he glared at Soul.

"You're still standing, how stubborn…" Soul sighed as he turned to charge at him again.

"**Spiral Flame Strike!" **

Soul's head snapped to the left, where Yuya (Odd-Eyes) had reared his head and blasted Soul with a stream of flames.

Soul stood firm, even against the force of the flames, and began to walk forward against the flames and towards Yuya, seemingly unfazed (though exerting some effort).

"**REACTION FORCE!" **Yuya (Odd-Eyes) yelled as the flames intensified in power, blowing Soul back a few feet before he found his foothold again and continued to stand firm.

"Tch… how annoying…!" Soul cursed.

"Thanks, Yuya!" Yuto yelled as he spread his wings, which started to open up, causing electricity to start crackling violently around them.

"Crap…!" Soul (Wolfhound) cursed as he jumped to the right, away from the stream of flames.

"**Treason Discharge!" **Yuto screamed as electricity shot towards Soul, successfully colliding and binding him.

"I can't move…!" Soul grunted as he struggled against the electric ropes.

A dark purple glow enveloped Yuto as electricity crackled even more violently around him, "My name is Yuto Sakaki…!" Yuto growled, "The further you push me to the wall… the more I push back!" He yelled as he shot forward, his body a blur of black and purple.

Soul broke free from the electric ropes, quickly turning to face Yuto.

But it was too late.

"**Reveal who the true merciless beast is!" **Yuto declared, "**Revolt of the Lightning, DISOBEY!" **

Electricity crackled so violently around Yuto's (Dark Rebellion's) fang that the space around it seemed distorted, and that fang immediately rammed straight into Soul's (Wolfhound's) side as a violent roar echoed through the arena.

"Ack…!" Soul coughed as he flew into the air, his transformation dissipating.

Meanwhile, Syrup's eyes snapped open for a brief moment before closing again, "Now! It's not something that would normally do Soul in, but it's all I need!" She declared as he grasped the orange card underneath her sheets, the orange light suddenly flowing into Syrup's arms.

"_I can't transform right now, but lend me your strength, Apprentice Illusion Magician!" _Syrup thought as she felt the energy flow through her arm.

"_By bringing myself to the verge of transforming, I'll be able to access some of the monster's abilities…" _the explanation echoed through Syrup's head.

"_**Long-Distance, MIND CRUSH!" **_She screamed in her mind, a flash of light shooting from her forehead as her body went limp.

Meanwhile, back at the arena, for a moment so brief that nobody noticed… a flash of yellow light shone from the back of Soul's neck.

During that brief moment, the flash of light that had shot from Syrup's forehead flew through the air and collided with the yellow light on Soul's neck.

And with that, Syrup's mind entered Soul's.

* * *

Syrup felt herself falling, falling through a dark void.

Suddenly, she landed inside Soul's mental room with a loud crash, colliding with the bed and crushing the thing, completely obliterating the wooden framework underneath the mattress, but softening her fall quite a lot.

"Ow! Ow ow ow!" Syrup winced as she laid on the destroyed bed, her hair a mess and her head spinning.

"Geez, I guess doing that from a distance means that the entrance is a little rough…" Syrup sighed as she got to her feet, rubbing her butt in the area where she crashed into the bed. "Not to mention the fact I did it while I wasn't even transformed…" she sighed.

But, regardless, she had made it to Soul's mind.

The reason why she had to wait for Soul to be hit by a massive attack, was because of what outsiders would see.

If Syrup was correct, Soul's body would go limp the minute she entered his mind, which would be suspicious as hell if it just happened in the middle of a match (though, to be fair, it IS Soul…), so she had to wait for the moment where it would make _sense _for Soul to be unconscious for a few moments.

She looked around, and her eyes immediately locked onto the glowing cage on Soul's desk.

The cage was shaking rather violently, a soft growl coming from within.

She quickly ran and grabbed it, rotating it in her hands, looking for a lock of some kind.

Suddenly, she felt something cold, metallic, and sharp press against her neck.

Arms had wrapped around her, and one of those arms held a small dagger, which was now pressed against her neck.

Syrup's breathing sped up in a brief moment of panic, and a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead.

"How did you get here, you're supposed to be in the hospital…"

Syrup glanced behind her, her eyes widening at the sight of Soul, who was the one holding a knife to her throat.

"Please put the dagger down…" Syrup gasped.

"Sorry, but the knife stays so long as you keep holding onto that thing," Soul said as he gestured towards the cage in Syrup's hands. "No hard feelings, I just can't let you do anything to that seal…" he said nonchalantly as if he wasn't holding a knife to her throat.

Mind you, it was all inside Soul's mind, but Syrup didn't want to find out what would happen if she was damaged—or even killed, for that matter—in somebody else's mind.

"Now, answer the question…" Soul said harshly as he pressed the sharp end of the blade closer to her neck.

"I… I can't give you any details…" Syrup gasped, "It's… a special skill of mine. I created a beacon of my life energy and attached it to you so that I could use Mind Crush on you no matter what the distance is…!" She explained quickly.

"Why can't you give me any details?" Soul asked.

"I… I just…" Syrup stammered.

Soul stared into her eyes for a moment before sighing, "fine, I can tell you aren't lying…" he said exasperatedly.

Syrup let out a sigh of relief, though it was short-lived, as Soul immediately tightened his hold on his weapon, as well as his hold on Syrup.

"Now, drop the cage…" Soul said menacingly, "You're important to me, but that seal can't come undone, no matter what…" he explained.

"How are YOU even here…!?" Syrup said as she tried to break free from Soul's grip, only for him to tighten it in a threatening fashion, "Even if Mind Crush pulls us both in here… there should be some time before you arrive…!" She gasped.

"Call it skill," Soul replied, "now drop the damn cage, _now!" _He hissed.

"Soul…" Syrup sighed, "Sorry… but I refuse…!" Syrup declared as her eyes shone yellow.

Soul's eyes widened as he was suddenly blown away by an unknown force, slamming him into the wall behind him.

Soul winced as he stood up and glared at Syrup, only for his eyes to widen even more.

"What… the hell…?" He said breathlessly.

A large stream of green energy trailed out of the area where Syrup's tailbone was located, giving it the appearance of a tail. On Syrup's head were the same streams of green energy, though they were smaller, and they gave off the appearance of ears.

"What the… that's spiritual energy…" Soul muttered, "that's the energy of monsters… the same monsters that we transform into…" he said as he stared.

"_Syrup… just who the hell are you…!?" _Soul thought as his eyes remained transfixed to the girl, "_Humans can't handle Spiritual Energy unless they're transformed… so how the hell do you have so much, when you aren't transformed…!?" _

Syrup held her hand out to her side, a bright light suddenly erupting from her palm as a golden key appeared in her hand.

"What… what the hell is that…!?" Soul panicked as he got to his feet, "Syrup, wait!" He suddenly yelled.

Syrup stared at him in surprise as she saw his sudden change in attitude.

Soul's eye (the one that wasn't covered by hair) was wide, a look of fear suddenly replacing the lethargic/emotionless look.

She looked down and saw a large, black lock with a keyhole on the side of the cage, and she started to put the key into the hole.

"Syrup, you don't understand!" Soul yelled as he picked up the dagger from earlier, "If you unleash me, people will…!" He panicked.

"No, they won't!" Syrup yelled back, "Trust me, please…" she said softly.

Soul stared into her eyes, a look of fear meeting a look of sincerity.

"What… no, who are you…?" Soul asked.

Syrup didn't answer him, and she plunged the key into the keyhole, twisting it.

Light erupted around them, engulfing the room as a roar filled their ears.

Then, everything faded to white.

* * *

Soul's body hit the ground, limply rolling along the ground before stopping.

Yuto gasped for air as his transformation dissipated, Yuya quickly running to his side and releasing his transformation so he could catch him and support him.

Yugo and Yuri flew over and landed next to them, returning to their normal forms and glaring at Soul's limp body, their bodies tense with anticipation.

"So… you think Syrup did the thing yet?" Yugo asked.

"I guess we'll find out…" Yuri muttered.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blasted past them, a powerful pressure suddenly filling the arena.

Soul slowly got to his feet, his body swaying lazily as he stood up straight.

Suddenly, his hair started turning white, starting with the roots of his hair.

His hair started to grow slightly as it started to… rise? His hair was _rising_.

His white hair was sticking up in five directions at the front, like a star, with multiple other spikes at the back. His black hoodie also turned white, and with his hair floating upwards, his right-eye was revealed to the brothers.

His right gold-colored eye, along with his left crimson-red eye, gazed emotionlessly at the brothers as a deep shade of blue light started to envelop his body.

"That's Ritual Monster colors…!" Yuto gasped, "Guys, get ready!" He yelled.

"_O Great Deity of Blades… Descend upon this world, and judge my enemies with your divine wrath…" _Soul chanted.

"Oh, hell no!" Yugo yelled as he ran forward and transformed into Clear Wing, "**Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" **He roared as he charged at Soul.

Soul slowly raised his arm at Yugo, muttering something under his breath.

Suddenly, about ten gigantic, gold-colored blades fell from the sky, crashing down into the ground around Yugo and effectively caging him.

"Agh…! What the hell!?" Yugo cursed as he swung around in an attempt to break free, only to find out that the swords were ridiculously heavy, as well as surprisingly durable.

"_Take control, and guide me to the promised land!" _Soul continued to chant, "_Descend! __**Blade-Messiah Ritual Dragon!" **_Soul's chant turned into a roar as he called out the true name of the monster he had sealed away.

Suddenly, all four brothers felt a sharp pain in their chest.

"Ack… what the…?" Yuya gasped as he clutched his chest.

"What… is this feeling…!?" Yuto wheezed, "My body feels… hot…!" He said haphazardly.

"Why…?" Yuri grunted, "Why do I feel so nostalgic all of a sudden…!?" He shouted.

A blade that was similar to the ones caging Yugo (though smaller and more human-sized) appeared in Soul's hand, which he immediately used to slash a glowing dark-blue card that had appeared in front of him clean in half.

An explosion of dark-blue light, which slowly changed to a divine, golden pillar of light that erupted from the ground beneath Soul.

Yugo finally broke free of his cage, shoving past and pushing down the weapons that surrounded him. "What the hell… I better not have heart problems…!" He wheezed as he clutched his chest.

Yugo's eyes went wide as he turned and saw the pillar of light, where a large silhouette had started to rise from the ground within it.

Explosions of light went off behind him as Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri transformed into their dragons and readied themselves. "Heads up!" Yuto yelled, "I don't care if you're tired! Just get ready to fight as hard as you can!" He shouted.

"Again, who the _hell _made you the leader!?" Yuri shouted.

"This isn't the time for that!" Yuya panicked.

The pillar of light burst, revealing the form of a large bipedal dragon dressed completely in gold-colored, shining armor. It was as though the armor was its scales, and it completely covered it's chest, legs, and face.

The only area uncovered by armor was the dragon's arms and the underside of its tail, though it wore armored gloves, it's uncovered arm revealed blue and white scales. Its face, on the other hand, was completely and utterly covered in armor. Its mouth was free to open, but the gold-colored material covered the bottom of its chin and even the horns atop the head.

Despite its completely-covered head, you could still see its eyes… which glowed with a calm, gentle green, just like the left eye of Yuya's dragon, Odd-Eyes.

"Well… he's flashy…" Yuri muttered, "but… this nostalgic feeling… why is it turning into excitement, now!?" He hissed under his breath.

After a moment of silence passed, Yugo (Clear Wing) leaned over and whispered to his brothers, "Hey… Syrup said that he was going to… go berserk?" He asked.

The dragon had remained fairly motionless, with its arms crossed at the chest.

"Hm…" Yuto muttered as he ignored the heat in his chest, "start to circle him… surround him, but stay slow…" he said to the other three.

"_You aren't the fucking leader, damn it!" _Yuri hissed.

"Not now, Yuri!" Yuya shot as he started to take slow, gentle steps around the dragon.

It hovered in the air, gazing at them, even though it had no wings to allow it to fly.

"Honestly… if it weren't for the tail and scales, I'd think that was just a really large humanoid monster…" Yugo muttered as he started to move as well.

They had hardly moved before the pressure suddenly increased in intensity, stopping all of them in their tracks.

The dragon suddenly let loose an ear-piercing roar, spreading its arms to the side as it roared.

Yuya gasped as he saw its eyes flash, changing from gentle green to a ferocious red.

Before the boys could even properly react, countless golden blades (like the ones that caged Yugo earlier) started to appear out of thin air and start to fly around the arena at high speed, before closing in on the Blade-Messiah Dragon.

"What the—SHIT!" Yuri cursed as one of the blades flew past him, nearly skewering him as it flew to Blade-Messiah.

The gigantic blades that had caged Yugo started to rise from the ground and join the blades that now flew around Blade-Messiah Dragon, before the blades suddenly stopped, locking in place behind it's back.

"Oh come on, is it seriously gonna…?" Yugo groaned.

The blades, though they hovered behind Blade-Messiah's back, locked themselves in place at its back. Some of the blades didn't even have hilts, but they locked together with other blades like puzzle pieces with the larger swords as the base.

Finally, all of the blades locked into place, forming large wings at the dragon's back in the shape of an X, similar to Yugo's (Clear Wing's) glass-like wings.

"Well, I guess it does have wings…" Yuto muttered, "get ready! It's going to attack!" He shouted.

As he said this, Blade-Messiah suddenly appeared in front of him, as though he had teleported.

"Wha…!?" Yuto gasped.

A loud crash, like the sound of metal hitting metal, echoed through the area as Yuto (Dark Rebellion) was struck with a gold-colored longsword in Blade-Messiah's hand, sending him flying across the arena and into the ground a good distance away.

"Yuto!" Yuri (Starving Venom) yelled, "Damn you! Take this!" Yuri yelled as his wings opened up, blasting Blade-Messiah with countless green beams.

The beams collided, causing an explosion of black smoke around the dragon.

"Hah, not so tough…!" Yuri laughed, only for his grin to vanish as the smoke cleared.

Multiple floating blades hovered in front of Blade-Messiah, an amount equal to the number of beams Yuri had fired off.

"Don't tell me… he can spawn a virtually endless amount of weapons, and he had an individual sword appear to block my attack…!?" Yuri muttered as the monster turned to face him.

"**Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" **Yugo (Clear Wing) roared as he rammed into Blade-Messiah, green wind howling around him as he pushed the monster into the air.

Suddenly, Yugo was smacked away from the dragon as they reached a decent altitude. "What the… how!?" He yelled.

Yuya stared at them in awe, "Yugo… he had blocked your attack with a sword… and then pushed you away with that…!" He gasped.

"Damn it, I'll show you…!" Yugo cursed as he corrected his position in the air and faced Blade-Messiah again, only for his eyes to widen in shock.

Behind the monster, was the biggest collection of blades, all hovering behind Blade-Messiah, and pointing directly at Yugo.

With a roar from Blade-Messiah, every single weapon shot forward at Yugo as projectiles.

"What the hell!? What kind of bozo uses melee weapons as projectiles!?" Yugo yelled as he immediately turned and started to fly in the opposite direction, attempting to outrun the flying swords.

From the ground, it looked like Yugo was trying to outrun a storm of gold metal.

And that storm was catching up to him, even as he rose higher into the air.

"Agh! What the hell!? These things are homing in on me!?" Yugo yelled as he tried to move evasively, but to no avail, as the blades continued to chase him no matter what he did.

"Fine then!" Yugo yelled as he turned to face the storm, "**DICHROIC MIRROR!" **

Yugo's wings fired off a large beam of light at the storm of blades, colliding with the weapons halting the storm in its tracks.

Or so he thought.

Immediately after the beam struck the weapons, the blades at the front changed direction to have their flat side facing the stream of light, blocking the attack… while the weapons behind them split off and started to fly at Yugo as two separate, smaller storms.

"Oh, shit…!" Yugo cursed, but it was too late.

The weapons struck Yugo, coming together and dragging him through the sky before coming back down to slam him to the ground, the blades continuously damaging Yugo already.

"Yugo!" Yuya yelled.

"Argh! That's enough!" Yugo yelled in frustration, "_Shine through! Crystal Wing!" _He shouted.

White light burst from within the storm of blades, and Yugo (Crystal Wing) burst out from within before turning back and charging at the storm, blasting through it ten times in succession.

Yugo (Crystal Wing) skidded against the ground as he finished destroying the storm of weapons, gasping for air.

They didn't get a chance to rest, as Blade-Messiah was immediately doing something else.

Yuya's eyes widened as he saw multiple blades floating in front of Blade-Messiah in a circle, an orb of golden light starting to form in the center, and at the front of its mouth as well.

"Guys! Get back!" Yuya yelled as he dashed forward and reared his head, flames starting to form in his jaw.

Yuya then heard Soul's voice, though it was deeper, and an even deeper and gravelly voice spoke beneath it.

"**Vanish without a trace," **Blade-Messiah spoke, "**MESSIANIC BURST!" **It roared, breathing a beam of golden light that made contact with the orb in front of him, which amplified the attack into a blindingly bright stream of golden light.

"**SPIRAL STRIKE BURST!" **Yuya (Odd-Eyes) roared as he let loose the largest stream of flames, the flames clashing against the incoming beam.

"**REACTION FORCE!" **Yuya (Odd-Eyes) roared, the flames intensifying and doubling in power.

At first, the flames started to push the light back… but just as it seemed like it was working, the light overwhelmed the stream of fire and descended on Yuya.

"What!?" Yuya (Odd-Eyes) exclaimed as his flames were swallowed up, overwhelming him and crashing down on Yuya, blasting him through the ground as the beam slammed him through the dirt.

"YUYA!" Yuto yelled as he returned to the fight.

Yuya (Odd-Eyes) slowly got back to his feet after the beam of light simmered out, weakly shaking ash and dirt off of himself as smoke rose off of him, as though he had been charred.

"Agh… that hurt…!" Yuya (Odd-Eyes) gasped as his legs wobbled, "My Reaction Force-boosted attack… he blew past it like it was nothing…!" He wheezed.

He didn't get to ponder about it any further, though, as Blade-Messiah was suddenly on the ground, next to him.

"Wait—!" Yuya exclaimed.

He didn't get to finish, as he suddenly felt the breath get knocked out of him by a merciless kick from Blade-Messiah, sending him into the air and immediately jumping into the air and flying after him.

"Yuya!" Yugo panicked as he attempted to fly after him, only to become occupied with three blades that had been spawned and shot at Yugo. However, these blades acted differently, as they now swung at Yugo as though something was holding them, though nothing was.

"The hell…!? Is he individually controlling these!? While he's fighting Yuya at the same time!?" Yugo exclaimed as he flew around and clashed against the blades that followed his every move.

"Urgh…!" Yuya (Odd-Eyes) grunted as he swung around to try and smack Blade-Messiah away with his tail, only for the monster to dodge and appear behind him, smacking him back to the ground with its weapon.

Yuya quickly got to his feet after colliding with the ground and readied another breath attack. "Damn…! Take this—"

Like before, Blade-Messiah was suddenly in front of him, striking Yuya with a powerful uppercut to his lower jaw, closing Yuya's mouth on the fire that was forming in his mouth.

"Stay away from him!" Yuri (Starving Venom) roared as he fired his volley of lasers at Blade-Messiah in an attempt to get him off of Yuya.

Blade-Messiah simply spawned more blades to block the attack, continuing with the assault on Yuya by swinging his blade at Yuya's head.

Yuya quickly ducked to dodge, but Blade-Messiah was faster than Yuya could react in time, and the sword cleanly sliced off the left horn on Yuya's head.

Yuya (Odd-Eyes) roared in pain as he recoiled away from the monster, but to no avail, as Blade-Messiah was already starting to use a follow-up attack.

Yuya managed to tilt his head to look into Blade-Messiah's eyes, attempting to look for any semblance of mercy… any semblance of Soul.

He saw nothing but a merciless beast within those shining, red eyes.

Blade-Messiah thrusted his weapon forward, straight at Yuya's (Odd-Eyes') chest, cracking the bone-like material that surrounded the blue gem in his chest.

In an instant, Yuya was blown away, flying across the stadium before colliding with the wall behind their crystal.

It was also, conveniently enough, where the girls were watching.

"Yuya!" Yuzu yelled in panic.

Though Yuya's transformation didn't end, he now laid limp against the wall, unconscious.

"Yuya! Yuya!" Yuzu's panicked cries continued, all while Serena stared at her pink-haired sibling.

Yuzu's face was plagued with worry, and all of her embarrassment had suddenly gone out the window as she fretted over Yuya's condition.

Anybody could see just how much she cared.

Serena sighed and placed a hand on Yuzu's shoulder, "Relax, I'm sure he's fine…" she said in an attempt to calm her down.

Big mistake.

"Fine!? How can you be sure!? What if he's actually _really _hurt!?" Yuzu nearly screamed as she grabbed Serena's shoulders and started shaking her back and forth.

"I-I get it! Please stop shaking me!" Serena exclaimed as she fought to wrench Yuzu's hands off of her shoulders.

Serena made a mental note to tread carefully when Yuzu has a panic attack, while Ruri and Rin each giggled at the interaction.

"Your sister is right, Yuya hasn't reverted to normal yet, so he's still fine."

Yuzu turned in surprise to see Kachidoki standing… next to them? How long had be been there? How did they not notice him until now?

"But…!" Yuzu started to protest.

"You've run with us—don't think I don't notice you—so you should know how hard Yuya trains," Kachidoki cut her off, "and running is only one part of Yuya's training, Yuya has gotten much stronger than he realizes." He explained.

'What do you mean…?" Yuzu asked, her sisters staying silent and essentially eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Yuya's sole focus has been on mastering Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon," Kachidoki explained, "I intentionally made it that way so that he would have a hard goal. Because of this, he hasn't noticed just how much stronger he's gotten."

"So what does that mean?" Yuzu asked.

"Just wait and see, he's going to awaken during this match, I'm sure of it." Kachidoki said confidently, "Oh, by the way, you should just ask to come along on our runs, I'm sure Yuya wouldn't mind…" he said, seemingly unaware of why Yuzu would be hiding from them during runs.

"I-I can't do that! I'd…!" Yuzu stammered as her face started to turn red again.

While Yuzu talked with Kachidoki, Yuya's brothers were now glaring at Blade-Messiah with rage in their eyes.

"Damn it… you'll pay for doing that to him…" Yuto (Dark Rebellion) growled.

"Oh… I can think of _many _different ways to torture you for that…" Yuri (Starving Venom) hissed, "I swear, you're gonna fucking pay for doing that…" he growled.

"You touched Yuya… this is personal now!" Yugo (Crystal Wing) yelled angrily.

"Hey! You said you had a trick up your sleeve, right!?" Yuri (Starving Venom) shouted at Yuto, "I'm pulling out my trump card! So you better do the same!" He yelled.

"Alright, fine…!" Yuto (Dark Rebellion) growled as he set down on the ground and closed his eyes.

"_Remember what Shun taught you…" _Yuto (Dark Rebellion) thought as he started to gather up energy, his body starting to glow a dark brownish-purple, his skin and scales starting to turn the same color.

Meanwhile, Yuri reverted to normal, and two purple cards appeared in front of them. Yuri recognized one card as the one for Starving Venom, and the other for Predaplant Chimerafflesia.

Yuto (Dark Rebellion) reared his head and roared as his entire body glowed with this brown-purple energy, cracks now beginning to appear around his energy-covered body.

Yuri raised his arms, the cards floating upwards to hover above him before beginning to swirl, losing their card shape and forming into a swirling ball of color.

Blade-Messiah roared and charged at them, so Yugo (Crystal Wing) immediately flew forward and met him, their heads clashing before flying back and attacking again.

"**Krystallos Edge of the Gale!" **Yugo (Crystal Wing) roared, speeding up to the point that he became a blur as he flew through the air, the wind swirling around him as he took sharp turns, striking at Blade-Messiah countless times.

Each attack, however, was met with a strike from Blade-Messiah, who was now wielding two blades, along with two more floating around it.

"Damn it… he's keeping up with me at this speed…!?" Yugo grunted as he buzzed around Blade-Messiah, even more of his attacks being met with a block/counter.

"_From the depths of purgatory, dedicate to the unsinking souls your song of rebellion!" _Yuto (Dark Rebellion) chanted as he stretched his claws and tail, glowing cracks appearing along his body, "_Appear and echo forevermore! __**Rank-Up Xyz Change! Appear, Dark Requiem Xyz Dragon!"**_

The layer of dark-purple around Yuto (Dark Rebellion) shattered, revealing the new form of Dark Rebellion.

Yuto's new form looked identical to Dark Rebellion, however, it was considerably bigger, and a bone-like material covered much of its body, along with the multiple new areas of its design where large spikes now existed. Long blades stretched out from the ends of its arms, bony spikes adorned its tail, and two bone-like horns adorned the top of its head, just above the even larger fang at its chin.

Yuri, meanwhile, cackled as the orb above his head continued to spin faster and faster. "_Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs! Sweet-smelling flower that invites the abyss! Now become one, and indulge in whatever pleases you!" _Yuri cackled as the orb started to change shape, becoming a bright-purple card that descended to hover in front of him. "_**FUSION! Come forth! Greedy Venom Fusion Dragon!"**_

At that, Yuri raised his hands before swinging them down and clapping his hands on the card, crushing it and causing a pillar of purple light to erupt around him.

A wicked smile adorning his face the entire time.

Yuri's new form was almost identical to Starving Venom, however, its color scheme had changed from dark green and purple, to dark purple and white. Its spiked tail was longer; red and yellow orbs adorned its entire body, one yellow orb being positioned right at Yuri's forehead, giving it the appearance of a third eye. Its claws were long, including the ones at his feet, and the two largest yellow orbs were positioned at his shoulders, right next to the two largest red orbs.

Its wings were still made up of large, predatory plants… but this time, they were much larger than the ones on Starving Venom, taking on bright purple and pink colors, and two smaller (but similar) plants acted as wings attached to the back of its legs, under the larger ones at Greedy Venom's back. Each mouth had a copious amount of drool dripping inside, and as if the wide, open mouth at the head wasn't enough… Greedy Venom's chest could open up, revealing an even larger mouth inside.

Both dragons, Dark Requiem and Greedy Venom let out ear-piercing roars as the transformation completed, revealing the new power that Yuto and Yuri possessed.

Blade-Messiah managed to get a good hit on Yugo (Crystal Wing), sending him flying backward until he managed to stop himself, right before hitting his brothers.

"Heh… I guess I'm not the only one with a new form anymore, am I?" Yugo said with a grin.

"Heh! The fact you managed to achieve something like that before me was a fluke of nature!" Yuri declared smugly, "Don't expect it to happen again, Yugo!" He said confidently.

"Hey! My name is—wait, did you just call me by my actual name!?" Yugo exclaimed.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Fusion!" Yuri cackled.

"Argh! Damn you!" Yugo cursed.

"Argue later you two!" Yuto snapped, turning their attention toward Blade-Messiah, who was flying directly at them.

"You're going down now!" Yugo yelled confidently as he flew forward, "**KRYSTALLOS EDGE OF THE GALE!" **Yugo (Crystal Wing) roared as he charged, spinning around as he clashed against Blade-Messiah.

Yugo (Crystal Wing) was quickly parried away by the monster, only to suddenly feel two large jaws clamp down on its shoulders.

The mouths were courtesy of Yuri's (Greedy Venom's) wings, which had extended out like tentacles to attach themselves to Blade-Messiah while it was startled.

"_Greedy Drain!" _Yuri declared as the plants at the end of Yuri's (Greedy Venom's) wings bit down harder, causing energy to drain from Blade-Messiah and into Yuri.

Blade-Messiah reacted almost immediately, swinging both of its blades and slicing at the wings until they loosened their grip and returned to Yuri (Greedy Venom), whose body now shone with the same golden light as Blade-Messiah.

"Thanks for your ability! I'll be making good use of it!" Yuri (Greedy Venom) roared as multiple blades, identical to Blade-Messiah's blades, appeared behind him.

Blade-Messiah matched Yuri's actions, spawning an equal number of weapons behind him.

"Fire!" Yuri roared, causing the weapons behind him to shoot forward as projectiles.

Blade-Messiah roared, having its weapons do the same.

The weapons clashed mid-air, causing large explosions to go off with each collision while Yuri's wings opened up, large glowing vines stretching out in every direction at a distance even greater than what Starving Venom could do.

"Eat shit!" Yuri (Greedy Venom) yelled as countless rays of energy started to form among the roots behind him, "**VENOMOUS MASER RAIN!" **Yuri roared as he let loose the volley of energy.

The beams blew past the smoke caused by the explosions from before, blowing the smokescreen away and revealing that more blades had spawned to block each beam.

Yuri, however, would have none of it.

"AHAHA! You truly are a foolish beast if you think that trick will work again!" Yuri taunted as the beams increased in power.

Immediately, the blades began to glow red with heat before shattering from the pressure of the attack, allowing every beam to go through and hit Blade-Messiah directly.

The monster roared in anger and pain, glaring directly at Yuri (Greedy Venom).

"Aw, is the widdle monster upset?" Yuri taunted.

The beast let out an enraged roar, only to be interrupted by a flying Yugo.

'**KRYSTALLOS EDGE OF THE GALE, EIGHTFOLD!" **Yugo (Crystal Wing) roared as his speed reached an even higher level, now flying and striking through Blade-Messiah eight times within two seconds.

Blade-Messiah roared in pain again as it skidded against the ground, countless blades spawning around it and flying in every direction.

"Yugo! Handle those blades!" Yuto yelled.

"**Krystallos Mirror Rain!" **Yugo (Crystal Wing) roared as his wings shone with a blinding light, sending countless beams of light off in every direction, blasting away all of the weapons around them.

"Alright, it's my turn now!" Yuto (Dark Requiem) roared as the two large purple orbs at his shoulders started to shine with eerie, rainbow light.

Blade-Messiah roared as it threw the two blades in its hands at Yuto, the blades spinning rapidly like saw blades as they closed in on Yuto… only for Yugo (Crystal Wing) to zip around and strike the weapons out of the sky.

"**REQUIEM SALVATION!" **Yuto (Dark Requiem) roared as multiple wispy black arms shot out of the two gems at his shoulders, quickly wrapping around Blade-Messiah and immobilizing the monster.

Blade-Messiah roared in rage as it struggled to free itself from the binds, but to no avail, as the binds simply tightened further at the struggling.

Yuto (Dark Requiem) rose into the air, the sky and clouds above him suddenly shining a magnificent, divine gold as he spread his wings out and glared at Blade-Messiah from above.

The countless gems adorning his bone-decorated body started to glow with the same eerie rainbow light, and instead of electricity… this time, an eerie light started to shine within Yuto's (Dark Requiem's) wings.

At first, it started brightly. Colorful lights started to shine in Yuto's (Dark Requiem's) wings, forming a beautiful glow within his wings, similar to stained glass windows.

Then, black-colored light would shine, becoming the lines between the colors and increasing the size of these energy wings.

Yuto (Dark Requiem) hovered in the air, his wings spread wide as a loud humming noise started to get louder, originating from Yuto's wings.

Yuto's (Dark Requiem's) fang started to glow with an eerie white light, and his piercing yellow eyes never left Blade-Messiah, who continued to struggle against its binds.

"_Rend and tear…!" _Yuto (Dark Requiem) growled, "_AND PERISH AMONGST THE SOULS OF THE REBELLIOUS!" _He roared.

Yuto (Dark Requiem) flew up, flipping and pointing his fang directly at Blade-Messiah before charging forward at full speed.

"**REQUIESCENT… DISASTER DISOBEY!" **Yuto (Dark Requiem) roared as he nose-dived towards Blade-Messiah, black and white light forming like wisps around him as he charged, slicing through the air itself as he approached the Blade-Messiah Ritual Dragon.

Blade-Messiah roared in rage as he continued to attempt to break free of his binds, but it was too late.

Yuto's attack struck true, his fang piercing straight through the armor at Blade-Messiah's chest as he rammed into Blade-Messiah, pushing him through the ground and towards the giant castle at the other side of the arena.

Finally, after a battle of roars between the two dragons, Yuto raised his fang and pushed Blade-Messiah upward, ramming the dragon straight into the wall of the castle as streams of darkness spread out in every direction around Yuto's (Dark Requiem's) fang.

The arena shook violently at the impact, before finally dying down as Yuto's (Dark Requiem's) fang stopped glowing, and Yuto slowly moved away from Blade-Messiah.

The dragon laid limp against the damaged castle wall, its eyes closed as it laid seemingly defeated.

Yuto took deep breaths of air. "Did… did we do it?" He asked.

"_What an incredible match! Though Challenger Soul put up a ridiculous fight, it seems that against the full might of—"_

Melissa's commentary was cut off when Blade-Messiah's eyes suddenly flashed bright red again.

"Shit… you're kidding me!?" Yugo (Crystal Wing) exclaimed as he landed next to Yuto (Dark Requiem).

"No! He has to be hurt! We threw so much at him, he's probably struggling to even stand!" Yuto (Dark Requiem) shouted though a nervous expression was etched across his face.

"I swear to god if this guy pulls some sort of limit-breaking bullshit…" Yuri grumbled.

Suddenly, a burst of dark light enveloped Blade-Messiah, and its golden glow and armor changed.

Blade-Messiah's armor changed into a deep and ominous pitch black color, its eyes glowing a terrifying shade of red as the blades that served as its wings changed to match the color of the armor. Its glow was replaced with a murky, black aura that surrounded him like smoke and gave off a threatening presence.

The cracked area on its chest seemed to not bother it at all, and a sinister red glow now shone from the wound.

"Oh, come on!" Yuri shouted in frustration.

"Guys… hear me out…" Yuto said as he took a step back, "Syrup said this guy was going berserk, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, so what?" Yuri asked.

"This is just a theory… but what if him being berserk… means that we can't beat him?" Yuto said as he shot Yuri a nervous glance.

"What do you mean!? We just kicked his ass!" Yuri protested.

"No… I mean that we might not even be able to _beat _him…" Yuto clarified, "What if he can just ignore damage and just keep fighting at full strength…?" He asked.

"Uh, that would be terrifying…" Yugo cut in.

"And bad for us!" Yuto exclaimed, "If this turns into a battle of endurance against a beast that will never stop attacking, we'll end up running out of steam before we get anywhere!" Yuto said as his eyes widened at his own revelation.

Blade-Messiah suddenly charged with a black sword in its hand.

Yugo (Crystal Wing) immediately flew forward and smacked him away, though the dragon seemed mostly unfazed, even after being knocked a good distance away.

"Oh, then there's no problem!" Yuri yelled, "Just cut off his arms and legs, he'll have a hard time trying to fight us without those!" He said with a grin.

"Yuri this is serious!" Yuto shouted, "And we can't just do that! Are you kidding me!?" He said in a mixture of exasperation and panic.

"Ack!"

Yugo (Crystal Wing) suddenly appeared next to Yuto, shaking his head in bewilderment.

"Yugo! What happened!?" Yuto exclaimed.

"Guys… he's getting faster…!" Yugo said with wide eyes, "I attacked him… but he dodged in less than a second and…" Yugo muttered as he turned to look at Blade-Messiah.

The dragon now stared at the other three, its gaze transfixed on its enemies.

"I highly doubt you're right, Yuto…" Yuri sighed as he rose into the sky, "but on the off chance you're correct… we just have to wait for Syrup to do her thing, right?" He pointed out.

"Alright… let's hope for the best and take him down again!" Yuto roared.

"RAAAAAAAAGH!" All three brothers roared as they readied their attacks and charged at Blade-Messiah.

Blade-Messiah's eyes flashed again, and it charged back in response, it's blade raised and ready to strike back against the three dragons that opposed it.

Yuto's (Dark Requiem's) fang clashed against Blade-Messiah's blade, and a bright white light filled the arena.

* * *

Syrup woke up with a pounding headache… yet despite that headache, a soothing feeling seemed to embrace her as she laid limp on… grass?

Oh, she remembered this place.

This was the place where she had met "Cahya"

She saw Soul in the distance, standing atop a green hill and gazing out at the beautiful scenery around them.

"Soul!" Syrup exclaimed as she ran up to him, "Are you okay!?" She exclaimed.

Soul slowly turned to look at her, a look of bewilderment on his face.

"Where… are we…?" He asked, "It's not my mind… there's no such place inside me, not anymore…" he muttered.

"I can't say I know exactly what this place is…" Syrup replied, "but I know that there's somewhere I need to take you…" she said as she gently took his hand.

Soul looked up at her with a small look of surprise in his eye as he stared at her.

Syrup gave Soul a gentle smile in return, and Soul seemed hypnotized.

"Hey, snap out of it!" Syrup said as she waved a hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his trance, "Come on! Don't ask why, but I know where to go from here…" she said soothingly as she started to walk, pulling him along by the arm.

"A-Ah!" Soul gasped in surprise as Syrup dragged him away from his position, calmly taking him by the hand and taking him with her.

Soul remembered the energy tail and ears from before.

"Syrup… who are you…?" He asked.

Syrup paused for a moment, remaining silent before finally answering.

"That's a silly question…" she said with a smile, "I'm Syrup Maple, just an ordinary girl trying to become a duelist!" She said cheerfully.

Soul stared at her as they walked, trying to examine her and break her down… trying to understand just who this mysterious girl with so much spiritual energy is.

But he couldn't.

She was hiding something, but not even he could see anything past the smile on her face.

"You… better tell me the truth one day," Soul said as he continued to walk with her, "You learned about my secret, it's only fair I learn something about you…" he sighed.

"Hm… we'll see, won't we?" Syrup said cheerfully as they walked along the bright green grass and colorful flowers.

Making their way towards a small cottage in the distance.

**End**

**Sorry, no bonus scene today because this chapter is already long enough.**

**Anyways, does Syrup make sense? If the answer is no, then good.**

**That's what I'm going for.**

**YES, there is a plan for her, YES there is a reason for all of the strange and unexplained things she's able to do, and YES she's going to be important.**

**Anyways, see you next time!**


	21. Chapter 21: Gleaming Eyes of Duality

**I planned for more things to happen in this chapter, but by the time I realized it, two months had passed and I had almost 10,000 words in this chapter.**

**So, figuring that I already missed two self-imposed deadlines, I decided that I probably already have enough content for a single chapter already.**

**I hope everyone is doing okay with the whole Corona-thing going on. Stay inside and wash your hands, everyone!**

**Chapter 21: Gleaming Eyes of Duality**

Yugo (Crystal Wing) darted through the sky, leaving a web of white lines through the sky as he clashed against Blade-Messiah—no, Dark Blade-Messiah, because of the change from its divine gold color to its dark and menacing appearance.

Yugo (Crystal Wing) retreated to catch his breath, his breathing haphazard and rough. "What the hell… I'm still faster than him… but he's way faster now, and his reaction speed is god-like…" he gasped, "And he has so many of those swords flying around… if I drop my guard for a second, I end up paying for it."

"Back off and rest, Yugo!" Yuto (Dark Requiem) yelled as he flew past Yugo and straight towards Dark Blade-Messiah.

"**Requiescent Disaster Disobey!" **Yuto (Dark Requiem) roared as he charged at the monster.

"Yuto! Wait!" Yugo called out.

Right before Yuto could make contact with Dark Blade-Messiah, the dragon twisted its body around, perfectly dodging the attack.

Before Yuto could properly react, he suddenly felt Blade-Messiah's large hand grab his head from the side.

"_Shit…!" _Yuto (Dark Requiem) cursed in his mind as he roared in frustration.

Yuto (Dark Requiem) swung one of his arms at Blade-Messiah, using the large blade on his arm to slice at the beast.

A sword immediately appeared to block the attack, and Yuto felt his blade clang uselessly against the dark blade.

Then, he suddenly felt wind rushing past his head.

Then, he felt the ground.

Blade-Messiah had slammed him into the ground by his head, roaring mercilessly as Yuto struggled.

"**Die! Venomous Maser Rain!" **Yuri (Greedy Venom) roared, letting loose a volley of beams that Blade-Messiah immediately jumped away to dodge, allowing Yuto to get back to his feet.

Since their three-dragon assault on Blade-Messiah, ten minutes had passed.

They hadn't landed a single decent hit since then.

"What the hell is up with this guy…?" Yuri clicked his tongue as he fired at Blade-Messiah from a distance, "Soul's clearly not in control… but he's learning!" He exclaimed.

It was true, the dragon was growing in more ways than one.

Every attack it threw out would hit harder than the last, it was slowly getting faster, it could react perfectly to any attack, no matter where it came from.

Yugo was (though Yuri would never admit it) the only reason they were still standing. Yugo (Crystal Wing) was constantly zipping around the arena, attacking the countless number of flying swords that threatened to skewer them.

If it weren't for Yugo, they'd have a much harder time dealing with Blade-Messiah. In fact, it was possible that without Yugo, they'd have already lost.

Unfortunately, Yugo had a limit, and with the way he was running himself ragged, he was coming up on that limit at breakneck speed.

Yuto heard Yugo blast into the air again, returning a moment later with his breathing even more labored than before.

"I… can't… breathe… holy shit…" Yugo (Crystal Wing) gasped as his chest heaved.

Yuto (Dark Requiem) gritted his teeth as the orbs on his shoulders glowed, "**Requiem Salvation!" **He roared as a number of black arms shot out of the orbs.

About ten blades spawned, immediately flying to Blade-Messiah's side and slicing the dark arms to shreds before reaching their target.

"Shit… I can't bind him anymore…!" Yuto cursed.

The blades that had sliced Yuto's attack to pieces started to hover in front of Blade-Messiah, spinning in a circle as a black orb of energy formed between the blades.

Yuto's eyes went wide as he recognized the attack, "Shit! That's the attack that hit Yuya earlier!" Yuto called out.

This time, no words came out of Blade-Messiah… only an ear-splitting roar as it sent a dark version of the breath attack it used on Yuya at the brothers.

Suddenly, Yuri was in front of Yuto.

"I've had enough!" Yuri (Greedy Venom) roared as his chest opened up, revealing the largest mouth on his dragon body, "**SUPREME VENOM CANNON!" **He roared.

An enormous beam of light burst from the chest-mouth, colliding with Blade-Messiah's beam and immediately blowing past it, finally landing a massive blow on the dragon.

Yuri's (Greedy Venom's) chest-mouth slowly closed, and Yuri's breath was now as ragged as Yugo's.

"Shit… that doesn't feel pleasant…" Yuri groaned, "I don't think I can let out another one of those…" he said as he attempted to slow down his breathing.

"Damn… it would've been great if you could do that again…" Yuto sighed.

"Hey, it feels weird when your chest opens up…" Yuri sighed, "and it drained way too much of my stamina…" he said as though it was supposed to be obvious.

Smoke rose off of Blade-Messiah, but even after taking the strongest laser in Yuri's arsenal, it was still standing.

"Jesus christ… what are you, fucking immortal!?" Yuri cursed in frustration.

"It has to have a limit…" Yuto sighed, "It must have a limit to how much damage it can take… if it doesn't, then we might be screwed."

* * *

Yuzu stared down at the limp body of Yuya, still transformed into Odd-Eyes. "Yuya… please wake up…" she sighed.

She then heard Rin cough loudly behind her, but the words "absolutely smitten" were clearly heard through the coughs.

"Rin!" Yuzu exclaimed as her face flushed.

"What? I didn't say anything…" Rin said nonchalantly, though her smug facial expression betrayed her.

"That's enough, Rin! We shouldn't tease her anymore…" Ruri giggled, "no matter how easy it is to read her!" She said cheerfully.

"RURI!" Yuzu cried out.

"Just ignore them," Serena sighed, "especially Rin, since she's almost as shy as you when it comes to Yugo…" she pointed out.

"Ah! Serena!" Rin exclaimed as she lightly whacked her.

"Hey! Maybe pay attention to the match?" Serena suggested with an annoyed tone in her voice.

"Oh, right!" Rin exclaimed, "Yugo was looking pretty tired, is he still—" she started to ask a question, only for it to be answered when she looked back at the arena.

Her eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

Yugo (Crystal Wing) was zipping around Blade-Messiah, his body a blur… but Blade-Messiah matched his movements and was consistently blocking attacks, its arms a blur as it swung its blades around him.

Until finally, it swung once and stopped.

And suddenly, Yugo was on the ground.

"He… he moved faster than me…" Yugo gasped, "but that's impossible… there's no way…" he said as his chest heaved.

"Y-Yugo…!" Rin gasped.

"That wasn't just speed…" Serena muttered, "Soul reacted almost instantly… are we sure that they're fighting Soul right now?" She exclaimed.

* * *

Finally, Soul and Syrup reached the cottage in the distance.

He had never seen a house like it, not once in his entire life… but it felt familiar somehow.

"What is this, Syrup?" Soul asked.

Suddenly, Syrup started to collapse.

Soul's eyes widened as he moved fast, immediately grabbing and catching the girl as her eyes closed and her legs gave out.

"Ah… I thought I had a few more days… I guess not, huh?" Syrup chuckled weakly.

"What do you mean?" Soul asked.

"You made me lose sleep, dummy!" Syrup laughed weakly, "You're someone who became an important friend, and you were close to dying… I could hardly sleep, I spent all of my time when nobody was around trying to make a plan, and I broke my own leg…" she grinned.

"Syrup, how long have you been awake?" Soul raised an eyebrow.

"Well, just a few hours ago!" She said cheerfully, "Though I only slept for about thirty minutes before I woke up… if you wanna know how long its been since a proper rest, then the answer is three days!" She said almost too cheerfully.

"That isn't healthy." Soul deadpanned.

"Neither is killing yourself with a seal, or sleeping for thirty-six hours straight, but you've done both of those things!" Syrup shot back at him, "Though, I managed to stop the first one…" she mumbled.

"I'm the one who's supposed to be tired all the time. You better get some sleep later…" Soul sighed as he picked her up and continued to walk towards the cottage.

He noticed that the door was mysteriously left open.

"Go inside… there should be a bed in there, and could you please put me on it?" Syrup asked kindly.

"Oh, I'll put you on the bed alright…" Soul grumbled as he pushed the door open with his foot and entered the door with Syrup in his arms.

It was a fairly modest home with a table, chair, bed, kitchen, and fireplace. It was nothing special, though the fireplace was strange. On the fireplace was a small flame, the size of a candle's flame, despite the large logs of wood underneath it.

It flickered slightly, but the flame wouldn't get any bigger.

Oh, and there was a bed.

Soul promptly dropped Syrup on the bed rather roughly. "H-Hey! Couldn't you be a little more gentle!?" Syrup exclaimed.

"You just undid the seal on my power, and I have no idea what's happening on the outside," Soul said with a hint of anger, "I'm not exactly in the mood to be 'gentle' to you."

Syrup pouted, but let out a sigh in acceptance.

"Yeah, I guess it's to be expected…" she sighed, "of course you're angry… but I couldn't just do nothing, right?"

"Whatever, now where are we?" Soul blew her off.

Syrup sighed as she laid back in the bed, "You're going to meet the reason why any of this was possible… and yet another reason why I lost sleep," she chuckled at the last comment, "I had trouble comprehending it at first, but…" she trailed off.

"I was surprised too, but I decided to take advantage of the miracle, you know?"

Soul's eyes widened as he slowly turned around.

The small girl that Soul immediately recognized as his sister, Cahya, was standing at the door, her crimson eyes staring into his own.

"Cahya…?" Soul muttered, "No… a memory? But that can't…" he mumbled breathlessly.

The small girl smiled and shook her head, "No… thanks to a miracle, I was able to stay in this world…" she said with a smile.

"No…" Soul muttered, "No… no! Is this some kind of twisted joke!?" Soul suddenly turned and yelled at Syrup, his mood immediately shifting to rage.

Syrup stared back at him, a melancholy look on her face.

Soul's anger didn't go down, however.

"What? You're saying the dead come back!? I'm not that delusional!" He roared.

"Soul, please stop…" Cahya started to speak up.

Soul spun around and glared at the girl, "Damn it…! You look too similar, damn it!" He yelled, "Stop it…! Go away…!" He groaned as he clutched his head, as though it was in pain.

Cahya sighed as she walked closer to her older brother, "You're right… it should be impossible for the dead to remain, at least not for a long time…" she said as she took Soul's hand with her smaller hands, "but I was able to… it was a miracle that you caused—"

"Don't bullshit me…" Soul groaned, "Cahya died… I killed her…" he moaned as he held his head, which was being subjected to a pounding headache.

"Yes, I was killed…" Cahya said as she caressed his hand, "but not by you…" she said softly.

Soul looked up and glared.

Cahya was unfazed and continued to look at him with a smile.

"Look at me," Cahya smiled, "you should be able to tell if I'm real or not…" she said in a comforting tone.

Soul stared back at her, examining every inch of the small body.

"I don't…" Soul started to say.

Cahya suddenly shushed him and raised her hands to his face, calmly brushing the hair away from his right eye, revealing his gold-colored heterochromatic eye.

"You need to see clearly, you know?" Cahya giggled.

Soul's right eye seemed to glow faintly as Soul started to stare at her.

Suddenly, a soft gold-colored aura started to rise off of her body.

"Huh…?" Soul mumbled as he looked down at his own hands to see a black and gold aura rising off of his own body.

"_No… I've looked through this eye before, this never happened…" _Soul thought, "_Gramps said that it was an ability lost to time…" _he thought.

"You really are amazing, Soul…" Cahya smiled, "Soul-Reading, the ability that the Messorem family lost to time… you've awakened to it." She explained.

Soul remembered being told about this ability when he was a child. Soul-Reading was an ability granted by the Blade-Messiah Ritual, however, it suddenly stopped appearing in the family before Soul's great grandparents were even born.

"It allows the user to read a person's soul…" Soul muttered, "seeing the individual's aura and being able to know things about the person just by seeing what their aura is like…" he said breathlessly.

"But how…" Soul muttered.

"You were chosen by the Blade-Messiah Dragon itself," Cahya smiled, "you must be a little more special than you think!" She said cheerfully.

Soul blinked as he stared at Cahya's "aura". It was small and gentle with a beautiful golden glow… but it was incredibly small and weak.

He looked to the right, where a mirror hung on the wall. Soul saw his own aura, which was a mixture of gold, black, and red. Black and red colors seemed to almost completely overtake the gold color, which was reduced to being a small background color. His aura flared like fire occasionally before immediately dying down, and occasionally turning spiky before returning to normal just as quickly.

Soul turned to look at Syrup, who's aura was bigger than both his and Cahya's combined. It took on a bright-green color and surrounded Syrup gently, but also made it hard to see Syrup from within.

"That ability only works on entities with souls," Cahya grabbed his attention again, "If I was just an illusion or a memory, I wouldn't have what you're seeing…"

Soul slowly raised his hands to brush against Cahya's face.

Her skin was soft, though a little cold, and felt real.

He could feel her aura brushing against his skin, and his eyes widened as he felt the small warmth emanating off of it.

"You could never use this ability before because you never really opened your eyes…" Cahya smiled, "though they might have been open literally, they were spiritually closed… until you opened them to look at me."

Soul's hands trembled, and he suddenly felt something warm and wet running down his face.

He brought his hands up to wipe his face, looking confused as he looked at his sleeve, which was now wet.

"Ah…" Soul muttered, "am I crying…?" He asked as he turned to the mirror on the wall.

He hadn't even completely noticed it until he saw his reflection.

Tears ran down his cheeks, and he quickly tried to wipe them away.

But they kept coming, not stopping even once.

"I… I'm not… this isn't…!" Soul gasped as his voice cracked and rose, "I… you're… you're _real_… you're really _her_…" he gasped.

"I've always been here, ever since that day…" she smiled, "I'm happy that you finally noticed me…!" She smiled as tears started to fall down her own cheeks.

"Don't you… don't you hate me…?" Soul choked out.

"Geez, such a stupid big brother…" Cahya smiled as she wrapped her arms around him, embracing him, "of course not… I could never hate someone as kind as you…" she said in a comforting tone.

"I'm… not kind…" Soul choked out.

"Sorry, you can't hide anything from your little sister…" Cahya said as she squeezed him, "I can completely see through you… even those facades that you put up…"

"Ah… ahh…!" Soul's voice cracked and moaned as his arms shakily wrapped around the small girl, "Ahhh…! AHHH…!" His voice started to rise.

"_It will always surprise me when I see you let your emotions out and break character…" _Syrup thought as she stared at Soul, who now embraced and held the small girl with all of his strength, "_but it's a nice surprise, that's for sure!" _She thought as she smiled in relief.

"How…?" Soul spoke up after his emotions finally started to calm down.

"It was a miracle," said Cahya, "it's a long story, so we should find a place to sit, right?" She said with a smile.

"It's a… long story…?" Soul inquired.

"It's about how I did the impossible and stayed in this world, with you as the anchor," Cahya said as she helped Soul to his feet, "It was a mix of special conditions that were all coincidentally fulfilled at the time of my death, so let's sit down, shall we?" She said cheerfully.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm saying this… but thank god Yuri's off his rocker right now…" Yuto muttered.

Yuri was now the crutch that the brothers were leaning on to keep fighting, as Yugo was no longer faster than Blade-Messiah.

Why? Well, because Yuri had let his inner sociopath and psychopath take over again.

Well, well well! It seems that you're actually a slight challenge!" Yuri (Greedy Venom) taunted as his and Blade-Messiah's hands latched together, both of them grappling for control. "Be happy! Be joyous! Celebrate! For now you may die after receiving a compliment from somebody as powerful as me!" Yuri gloated.

Despite Blade-Messiah's now-overwhelming speed, Yuri (Greedy Venom) had copied its ability to spawn and use swords earlier. Though he couldn't control them as precisely as Blade-Messiah, it still gave him a significant edge while fighting one-on-one.

Blade-Messiah tried to attack from a distance, only for Yuri to cackle maniacally as he let loose a torrent of beams to chase him.

"_Venomous Swamp!" _Yuri (Greedy Venom) roared as he slammed his hand on the ground, causing the ground to change to a purple liquid that started to spread before shooting streams of this liquid at Blade-Messiah.

Blade-Messiah brought up more blades to block this liquid, only to immediately dodge as the liquid _melted _through the swords.

Blade-Messiah immediately roared and charged at Yuri (Greedy Venom), darting around the purple dragon and attacking ruthlessly.

Yuri (Greedy Venom), however, had swords hovering around his blind spots to block attacks and counterattack immediately, so every attack Blade-Messiah sent at Yuri would end up being blocked, leaving the monster to immediately retreat to avoid being hit by either a laser, a stab from Yuri's (Greedy Venom's) tail, a chomp from one of Yuri's wings, or one of the blades Yuri had spawned.

Yuri was normally not capable of this, but after allowing his inner sociopath/psychopath run free, his strength would increase quite a lot.

Yuri had described it in the past as "taking off some heavy weights that I've put on my arms and legs" when he willingly allows himself to go nuts.

But Blade-Messiah was still learning, and it would only be a matter of time before Yuri would somehow be overwhelmed.

Yuri (Greedy Venom) roared as he swung his tail, extending it and chasing after Blade-Messiah as the monster flew away from him.

His tail struck true, and Blade-Messiah's sword was knocked out of its hand.

"Now, die you fool who doesn't know his place!" Yuri (Greedy Venom) roared as he let loose another volley of lasers.

Suddenly, as though the world had suddenly gone into slow motion, the enraged Blade-Messiah… calmly moved and weaved around the volley of beams, whether it had bent over, flipped, or spun on the floor using its hands (similar to breakdancing), it had dodged everything.

"What the hell…? Ha! Interesting! Let's see just how far fancy footwork will get you!" Yuri (Greedy Venom) roared as he let loose another volley.

Blade-Messiah jumped and spun through the air, sliding and weaving through the beams before appearing in front of Yuri before he had even realized how fast Blade-Messiah was approaching.

Yuri (Greedy Venom) immediately reacted as Blade-Messiah spun midair and brought a foot down, quickly bringing his arms up and blocking the axe kick.

The ground cracked underneath Yuri as he roared and repelled Blade-Messiah, firing again as the monster dodged and flew away.

"Heh, I thought this guy was enraged! That looked pretty human to me!" Yuri laughed.

Yuto and Yugo now rested on the ground, all of Blade-Messiah's attention focused on Yuri, giving the other two time to recover.

"Soul's incredible… just how many skills has he not told us about…?" Yuto (Dark Requiem) muttered.

"What do you… mean…?" Yugo (Crystal Wing) wheezed.

"Those movements… I recognize them from somewhere," Yuto explained, "I can't remember exactly… but that was a type of martial arts…"

"Martial… hey, I thought he was berserk? Doesn't that mean he'd be too mindless to do something like that?" Yugo asked.

"It must be something Soul can do instinctively…" Yuto replied, "he may have lost his mind, but his skills as a warrior remain…"

"Damn it… how the hell is he not done yet…?" Yugo cursed, "Look at all the injuries that thing!" He exclaimed.

It was true. Blade-Messiah was heavily damaged, especially around its chest area, but it fought as though the damage wasn't there.

"That's probably the enraged part… the damage and pain is probably being completely ignored, as though it isn't there," Yuto explained, "It's like an adrenaline rush, probably… if Soul were to regain control over his mind, he'd probably fall over immediately."

"Damn it… how much longer do we have to deal with this monster…!" Yugo grumbled.

"If it gets too dangerous… it'll be bad for Soul since he'll still be enraged, but we'll have to prioritize the crystal," Yuto said reluctantly, "If we end the match, the pro's will join if Soul is still fighting… they'd be able to subdue him."

"But then… everyone would know that Soul is out of control…" Yugo muttered.

The crowd was assuming that Soul was still in control. Going berserk had never even crossed their minds as a possibility.

But if the match ended and Soul continued to attack? If he continued to be a beast even as the pro's subdue him?

This was why Syrup was leaving it up to them. It looked like just a regular—though incredibly explosive and intense—match to everyone else.

Yuto was snapped out of his thoughts as Blade-Messiah suddenly roared.

It charged at Yuri (Greedy Venom) and sliced one of Yuri's swords clean in half before proceeding to finally land a powerful hit on Yuri.

Yuri (Greedy Venom) gasped for breath, "Ack… hey, you're pretty interesting…!" Yuri growled as a wide grin stretched across his face, completely disregarding the danger he was in.

"Shit, Yugo…!" Yuto (Dark Requiem) cursed as he started to get to his feet.

But Yuto felt a pang of pain in his chest, adding to the burning sensation already in his chest ever since Soul first transformed.

"Agh… damn, have I still not rested enough…?" Yuto growled.

Suddenly, a stream of flames blew past him, continuing on the hit Blade-Messiah.

The monster roared in annoyance before deflecting the flames, immediately glaring in Yuto and Yugo's direction… but not paying attention to them.

Its attention was focused on the red dragon that stood behind them.

"Yuya…!" Yugo gasped.

_Earlier…_

It was dark, and Yuya was floating among this dark void.

Suddenly, he felt himself land gently on the familiar watery surface that he hadn't seen in so long.

The darkness vanished, and Yuya was in the endless expanse of sky and water.

"Eh… why am I here again…?" Yuya muttered.

His eyes snapped open, "Ah! I was fighting Soul…!"

Yuya immediately jumped to his feet, looking around in a panic, "I need to get back… everyone else is probably fighting on their own right now…!" He said out loud.

Except… where was the exit?

Suddenly, he heard a soft roar, as if it was far away, from below him.

Yuya looked down, his eyes widening as a dark shadow flew beneath him, swimming through the water below.

The large shadow was followed by a few more shadows of similar size, which were followed further by smaller shadows.

All of these figures that Yuya couldn't make out properly, all of them started to converge, swirling around in the water in front of Yuya like a school of fish.

The water started to bubble as a circle of red light started to form in the center of the vortex, slowly growing bigger, and the bubbles doing the same.

The water started to rise, before bursting with an explosion of red light.

It was blinding, Yuya immediately covered his eyes as red light filled the area.

The light finally started to die down, and Yuya slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes widened in surprise as countless figures, countless silhouettes, stood around him in a circle.

Some silhouettes were human-shaped, some were shaped like animals or objects (machines, perhaps?), and the largest silhouettes…

Yuya immediately knew what all of these figures were.

"You all… since when have you all been with me…?" Yuya asked.

He received no answer, and instead each silhouette glowed before turning into small orbs of light that flew forward and dispersing into Yuya's chest.

The landscape started to glow as Yuya fell backwards, his crimson eyes wide as his vision filled with white.

Then, he woke up.

* * *

"How much of that day do you remember, Soul?" Cahya asked.

"All of it… I can't forget any of it…" Soul muttered.

Soul sat on the bed next to Syrup, while Cahya sat on top of the table in the middle of the room.

"Really? Describe what happened after you transformed"

Soul looked up at her in confusion, but closed his eyes and recalled the event nonetheless.

"I… I transformed, and I started to lose control," Soul explained, "I heard Gramps say that I had summoned the actual Blade-Messiah Dragon, and then I lost control…"

Cahya cut him off.

"Describe what that felt like, what you saw"

"What I… what does that have to do with anything?" Soul grumbled, "I… my body felt hot, and I saw red…"

Cahya interrupted him again, "You saw red, huh?" She said in a matter-of-factly tone, "Tell me, what does that mean?" She asked.

"What do you think it means? I ended up in an uncontrollable fit of rage because I had gone berserk—" Soul suddenly stopped.

"Rage? Are you sure?" Cahya asked.

"I… what?" Soul put his hand on his forehead, "I wasn't… I don't remember feeling angry at that stage yet… I was panicking, I was scared…" he muttered.

"Let me guess what happens next in your memory," Cahya sighed, "everything goes red, and when it goes away, everything's destroyed and I'm dying… am I right?" She asked.

"That's right… but why is that important?" Soul asked.

The small girl smiled, but her eyes gave her a melancholy expression. "You've assumed that during that flash of 'red' you lose control and destroy everything, including me," Cahya said as Soul stared at her, "but you don't actually know what you did, do you?"

"I mean… it was fairly obvious…"

"From your point of view, maybe." Cahya said as she jumped off of the table and walked over to him, "But not from mine…"

Soul remained silent as Cahya reached up, standing on her tiptoes to place her palm on his forehead.

Suddenly, he was at that day again.

Soul saw himself, struggling to keep control.

He also saw Cahya, running at him in a panic.

"Soul!" Cahya yelled as she stumbled past broken pieces of rock and wood.

Beams of light flashed in every direction, but by some miracle, Cahya wasn't being hit.

The room was collapsing, and everybody had already been forced to flee, unless they wanted to be crushed.

Except Cahya.

"Soul! It's okay! I'm coming!" She shouted as she hoisted herself up onto the platform.

"_Huh? When did she say that?" _Soul thought as he stared at his past self.

A loud roar, and suddenly, his own younger voice.

"Stay… stay back…!" Young-Soul roared as the massive light around him started to grow smaller, "I… I'm fine! So get down…!"

"_I never said that…" _Soul thought.

The figure of the large bipedal dragon started to quiet down, it's chest heaving as the beams of light started to dissipate.

"_That never happened…" _Soul continued to think.

"Cahya's there…!" Young-Soul grunted as the light started to slowly grow smaller, "I can't… let her get hurt…!"

Soul stared in disbelief as the mostly-transparent, glowing silhouette of Blade-Messiah stopped rampaging, kneeling down on the ground behind Young-Soul.

"_No… I never had control…" _Soul continued to deny this vision.

Young-Soul gasped for breath as his muscles relaxed, slowly falling to the side.

Suddenly, he was tackled by Cahya.

"You dummy! You scared me!" Cahya cried, "Don't do that again! Don't you EVER do that again!" She screamed into his chest.

"Ah…" Young-Soul muttered as Cahya squeezed him, "sorry sis…" he said weakly, though the corner of his mouth twisted up into a small smile.

A smile of relief.

"_What's going on… no, this isn't what happened… it can't have happened…"_

"It is, though."

Soul turned around to see another Cahya standing next to him.

Considering that there was one Cahya with Young-Soul, it was clear that this was the one he was just talking to.

"But… if this happened, then how did you die?!" Soul shouted, "I know how you died! I saw it myself!"

"That's true, I did in fact die when one of your swords ran me through…" Cahya mumbled.

"Then…!" Soul exclaimed.

Emotions were rushing through Soul's brain like a storm.

He was confused, he was angry.

"Keep watching… this is what really happened."

Soul stared at her before turning his head back toward his past self.

"Well… most impressive, but I think I need to see a little more, no?"

Soul, Young-Soul, and Past-Cahya each whipped around to where an unknown voice had come from.

They looked up, where the roof had been destroyed, to see a shadowy figure of a man standing and watching them.

"_The sun's in my eye…" _Soul thought as he ran towards the podium that his younger self stood on, immediately getting a better look at the man.

The sun was behind the man, he could hardly make out his features.

He could only see a purple suit, a smug smile, and the shape of his hair.

But Soul almost recognized it.

"Who the hell…?" Soul muttered.

"Well, It's a good thing I stole some of those bugs that **he **was making before I left…" the man stated calmly, "though I only have one left, I suppose this is a good enough reason to use them."

The man flicked something at Young-Soul.

"A-Agh…!"

Soul looked down to see his younger self, suddenly clutching his head in pain.

"Soul? Soul!" Cahya exclaimed.

"Ack… what the—my head…!" Young-Soul grunted in pain.

Soul's eyes widened as the light from earlier started to appear again.

"Now then, I should get some distance… I wouldn't want to be too close to _that_…"

The man vanished before Soul could get another look.

"Who… who was that…!? What did he do!?" Soul shouted.

He saw Cahya (the real one) nearby, shaking her head.

Soul's eyes continued to widen as he saw Young-Soul stand up, his eyes blank.

Then, an explosion.

"After that… you rampaged for thirty minutes." Cahya's voice echoed in Soul's head. "We don't have that time, so…"

Soul's vision cleared up, and Past-Cahya was pushing past some rubble while ducking behind any kind of cover in an attempt to avoid the blades that now flew through the area, destroying everything.

"Soul! Please! You can control this!" Cahya shouted as she dashed out from behind the meager cover provided by a fallen beam of wood, and dashed at Soul.

"No… stop! Stop the vision! Stop!" Soul shouted.

Just as Cahya reached the podium and reached for Soul, the world froze.

"I paused it." Cahya sighed.

Past-Cahya's arms were outstretched as she jumped at Young-Soul.

Behind her, however, was the blade that was going to pierce her.

Soul fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

"Sorry, I guess I should've figured that you wouldn't want to see that…" Cahya said apologetically, a sad look in her eyes.

Soul said nothing.

"But you understand now, right?"

Soul turned to look at her.

She stared back at him, a firm look replacing the sadness in her eyes.

"That 'red' you saw… I don't know what happened to you, but that moment is when your memory seems to be cut off." Cahya explained, "You don't remember what happened properly… because your memory may as well be a video that had a portion of it clipped out."

"But how…?"

"I don't know," Cahya replied, "but I needed you to know that my death… it _wasn't _you…"

The world around them vanished, and Soul was back inside the cabin.

His face was blank.

He looked at Syrup, who looked back at him with a sad look on her face. Had she seen it as well?

He looked at his little sister, and stared for a moment.

His mind flashed to the unknown man in the memory.

It was all coming back to him now… his own memory of the incident.

He no longer remembered seeing red, he remembered everything from his own perspective.

In a way, his mind "short-circuited" for a moment.

He laughed, a quick chuckle and then a 1-second burst of laughter.

Then, as though his mind just realized that the response to despair _wasn't _laughter, he felt warm tears running down his face again.

And just as quickly as before, that emotion shifted to anger, and he suddenly turned and swung his fist at the wall.

A loud crunching noise filled the room.

Soul's breathing was heavy and haphazard, and half of his arm was now stuck through the wooden wall of the cottage.

His breath was shaky, his eyes were wide, and his mind still couldn't decide what emotion to feel.

A wide smile, tears at the corner of his eyes, and his eyebrows furrowed together as rage filled the look in his eyes.

Everything he had thought, everything he thought he knew.

A lifetime of self-blame and self-loathing.

"God… I'm going fucking insane…!" Soul gasped as he yanked his arm from the wall, his entire body trembling.

He suddenly felt two hands grasp his right hand, and small arms wrapping around him from behind.

Syrup had gotten up and grabbed his hand, while Cahya had run forward and embraced him.

"It hurts to see you like that…" Syrup said, softly caressing his hand.

"I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner, brother…!" Cahya sighed, squeezing him while holding back any tears.

Soul paused, his mind finally calming down and allowing him to take deep breaths of air.

Soul's legs gave out, and he slid to the ground as the two girls sat next to him.

"What do you mean… by telling me sooner?" He asked, still holding his head and breathing hard.

"Soul… I've been with you ever since I died."

* * *

Blade-Messiah glared at Yuya (Odd-Eyes), blades appearing behind the dragon and pointing straight at Yuya.

Yuri had calmed down a bit, but was still eagerly ready to go apeshit again.

"Since I have the opportunity now, if I die, I want Yugo to put me in my grave…" Yuri growled.

"Why? So I can 'let you down one last time'?" Yugo groaned.

"No. I want you to put me in my grave so that when I come back to life and burst out of my coffin, you're the closest and easiest to punch."

"I want you to know that you can go fuck yourself."

"You guys are choosing _NOW _of all times to argue!? God I hate you guys…" Yuto hissed.

"You hear that? He loves us!" Yuri taunted.

"_I swear to god, I'm going to strangle you later…"_

"_I dare you to try."_

The argument was interrupted by a roar from Blade-Messiah, right before it took off and charged at Yuya.

"Yuya!" Yuto yelled.

An explosion of red light and a new roar shot out of Yuya, and Blade-Messiah had suddenly retreated back to its original position.

The dust cleared, and instead of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon standing where Yuya was, there was a different dragon.

It was identical to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, but it was clad in shining white armor from head to toe, and instead of the usual horns on its back, it had four large swords.

"**Odd-Eyes… Saber Dragon!" **Yuya (Odd-Eyes Saber) roared.

"Another Odd-Eyes…?" Yuto said breathlessly.

Blade-Messiah roared and swung its arm, sending a storm of blades at Yuya.

"**Spiral Saber Strike!" **Yuya (Odd-Eyes Saber) roared as the blades on its back detached from Yuya, hovering at his sides as greenish-yellow energy formed in front of Yuya's mouth.

The blades glowed and flew forward as Yuya (Odd-Eyes Saber) let loose a spiraling stream of energy at Blade-Messiah. The blades blew past Blade-Messiah's swords, ramming into the dragon and exploding upon contact while the stream of energy followed closely behind, striking true as well.

Blade-Messiah growled angrily as it sent another volley at Yuya, however it was double the size of the first one.

Another burst of red light, and a yellow barrier suddenly appeared around Yuya and the crystal.

The blades clashed against the barrier, only to bounce off or shatter upon impact.

"**Odd-Eyes Lancer Dragon…!"**

"Huh? Another one!?" Yugo exclaimed.

The new Odd-Eyes was, like before, identical to the Pendulum version. However this one was armed with grey and gold armor inscribed with runes, and it's horns had transformed, and now shot orange energy out from under them, creating large wings. It was also armed with multiple sharp edges, and the barrier it had formed was completely unscratched.

Blade-Messiah roared in frustration as it let loose a stream of dark energy at Yuya (Odd-Eyes Lancer), but the barrier remained up and clashed with the beam of energy.

The ground shook, but Yuya stood strong, completely withstanding the attack with his barrier.

"Is it defense-focused…? It must be…" Yuto muttered.

"Now it's my turn!" Yuya (Odd-Eyes Lancer) roared as another burst of red light enveloped him.

Another new dragon appeared, looking like Odd-Eyes as usual, but different in the way that this time, it was bipedal and stood on two legs.

It's scales were a darker shade of red, almost purple, as well as a deep dark-gray color. Its arms were considerably longer, and it's horns had turned dark-gray as well, forming into what looked like magic staffs. On top of that, the horns on his head had transformed to resemble that of a wizard hat.

"**Odd-Eyes Wizard Dragon!" **Yuya roared as two magic circles, one red and one green, appeared in his hands.

"Another one, and it's a wizard…?" Yuto muttered.

Yuya (Odd-Eyes Wizard) raised the hand with the red magic circle, and all of the orbs on his body started to glow.

"**Take this! Spiral Flame Strike!" **Yuya (Odd-Eyes Wizard) roared as his signature attack burst out of the red magic circle, streaming towards Blade-Messiah.

The monster immediately made a shield and blocked the attack, unaware of Yuya's plan.

As the monster blocked the first stream of flames, another red magic circle appeared behind it.

"**Spiral Flame Strike!" **

The flames burst from the magic circle, hitting Blade-Messiah from behind and disrupting its block against the first attack, causing both streams of flames to hit the dragon, causing an explosion of flames to erupt around it.

"It worked… with Odd-Eyes Wizard Dragon, I can use Spiral Flame Strike from anywhere, not just from myself." Yuya said out loud, "Though it seems that I can't use Reaction Force if I use it with Wizard…"

A flash of light appeared as Blade-Messiah shot out of the clouds of smoke, charging at Yuya.

"**Lancer Dragon!" **

Yuya transformed back into Lancer Dragon, immediately putting up a barrier that blocked Blade-Messiah's attack.

"**Saber Dragon!"**

Another transformation, and a beam of light shot out as the barrier went down, blasting Blade-Messiah away.

"**Wizard Dragon!" **

Multiple red magic circles appeared around the monster as Yuya changed forms again.

An explosion as multiple Spiral Flame Strikes went off and struck the beast, a mushroom cloud of smoke rising into the sky as the armor-clad dragon flew into the sky.

The dragon reached a high altitude before throwing two swords at Yuya, the blades spinning as they flew through the air.

"_Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon! Odd-Eyes Mirage Dragon!" _

Blue pillars of light erupted from the ground, and two smaller Odd-Eyes monsters appeared.

One was purplish-red, and the other was green-colored. Both dragons roared as they flew at the swords that Blade-Messiah had thrown, intercepting and knocking the blades out of the sky.

"New pendulum spirits? Yuya, where did this come from…?" Yuto (Dark Requiem) mumbled.

Meanwhile, Kachidoki was grinning proudly.

"Did you know about this?" Serena asked.

Kachidoki chuckled, crossing his arms with a look of approval. "Of course. Yuya grows at an exponentially high rate… I'd be more surprised if he _didn't _unlock any new abilities by now."

Yuzu, meanwhile, was now leaning limply against the railing.

"Hah… thank god he's alright…" she sighed, "I swear, he's getting a paper-fan up the back of his head later! I'll teach him to worry me like that…" she growled under her breath.

"What are you, his mom?" Ruri jabbed playfully.

"Wha—N-NO!" Yuzu yelled in surprise.

"You sure? You sure worry about him like a mother…"

"Stop it!"

"It would be really weird if she was his biological mother from the past or something…" Serena chimed unhelpfully.

"Serena!" Yuzu whined.

_Changing points of view: Yuya_

I tried my best not to show it, but my body was screaming at me.

It must be because of my current actions. I'm switching between forms rapidly depending on the situation, and with forms that I've just discovered as well.

It places a strain. It feels like I'm trying to support something much too heavy for me to handle. My arms are aching and my lungs are burning.

Looking back, there was a similar sensation back when I first transformed into Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon. But back then, I was pumped so full of adrenaline that I hardly noticed it.

I never mentioned it to anybody, not even my brothers, or even Yuzu for that matter. Why should I? I shouldn't bother them with things like this, and it wasn't anything I was unable to handle.

Besides, how can I make people smile if I'm hunched over in pain? People frown with concern if they see someone like that, and my goal isn't to make them frown, it's to make them smile.

There's nothing wrong with making other people smile. So long as they're smiling, I can smile as well…

"Performapal Uni! Performapal Corn!"

I release the two pendulum spirits I had out earlier in order to summon two more new additions to my roster. Twin girls with a unicorn aesthetic and fairly large…

I blush for a moment, embarrassed by the appearance of these girls. Knowing Yuzu, she'll probably get angry at me later for bringing them out.

But I had a reason for it. Soul… no, Blade-Messiah was charging at me.

It's fast, faster than before. I could see why everyone else was having trouble with it.

But in response to Blade-Messiah's charge, Uni and Corn both fly forward and place their hands together, forming a large pink barrier that repels the terrifying monster.

The dragon glared at me. It's red eyes staring into mine as if to threaten me.

I'm terrified. I'll admit it.

But that doesn't mean I'll stop.

I immediately run forward and clench the glowing card in my hand again.

"Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon!"

I grow larger as I fly at Blade-Messiah. I ignore the pounding of my heart and grab the other dragon's face and slam it into the ground, dragging him through the ground as I fly forward.

I fly forward, ignoring my fatigue.

My brothers are hurt and need to rest. I will buy them that time, no matter what.

_Back to the regular point of view…_

Yuya tore into Blade-Messiah dragon, slamming the beast against the opposite wall and providing his brothers the opportunity to rest.

But something felt off to Yuzu.

Why did she feel so concerned? Yuya just revealed that he was fine, so why…

Why are her hands trembling?

An explosion shook the stadium again as Yuya was blasted high into the air, with Blade-Messiah closing in on him at an alarming rate.

"Guh…! Lancer Dragon…!"

A flash of red light, and Odd-Eyes Lancer Dragon appeared to strike back and clash against the dragon of swords.

Suddenly, Blade-Messiah moved in an incredible way, suddenly releasing its hold on the blades in its hand and spinning around Yuya before locking it's legs around his neck.

"Ah…!" Yuzu started to say.

"Agh…!" Yuya grunted.

Blade-Messiah roared as he spun around and threw Yuya (Lancer Dragon) to the ground, causing a massive cloud of dust to erupt from the impact.

Immediately, flames burst out of the cloud of dust.

"Wizard Dragon…!"

Countless pillars of flame erupted from around Yuya. Blade-Messiah immediately retreated and weaved around the flames before closing back in on Yuya.

"Saber Dragon…!"

A flash of light as black light clashed against white light.

Both dragons flew into the air, clashing again and again as Yuya clenched his teeth in order to keep moving.

"Raaaagh!"

Yuya roared as he slammed into Blade-Messiah, sending the beast down towards the ground.

"Agh…!" Yuya suddenly winced in pain, glancing at a gash in his side.

"When did I…?" Yuya muttered.

Blade-Messiah was suddenly next to him again, and Yuya barely managed to guard himself before being struck square in his back by a powerful kick.

"Gah… he's so fast…!" Yuya gasped as he tried to recover the breath that had been knocked out of him.

Blade-Messiah was behind him again before he knew it.

"Lancer…!"

Yuya transformed into Lancer Dragon instinctively, protecting himself from what felt like ten strikes in rapid succession.

"Why you…!" He yelled.

Blade-Messiah was faster by far, but despite being slower by a vast margin, Yuya kept swinging around and striking back whenever the rampaging dragon got close.

"Performapal Handsamuraiger!" Yuya yelled as he saw the mass of black light fly at him from the front.

A new Pendulum Spirit appeared, this one with the form of a tall man with long black hair, wearing red japanese-style armor, a white and yellow cape with a star on the back, and wielding a long katana.

The spirit let out a battle cry as it flew forward and clashed blades with Blade-Messiah. The sound of metal rapidly striking metal filled the air for five full seconds before Handsamuraiger's blade shattered, and the warrior was swatted out of the air.

"Tch…!" Yuya clicked his tongue as the spirit vanished, but he had bought Yuya five seconds, and that was more than he needed.

"Wizard Dragon!" Yuya yelled.

The transformation completed in a flash of red light, and countless red magic circles appeared immediately, surrounding Blade-Messiah.

"**Multi-Spiral Flame Strike!" **Yuya declared as flames burst out of the magic circle, filling the area with light as flames roared in the sky.

"Did he do it?" Yugo asked.

"No… YUYA!" Yuto started to yell.

"Ack…!" Yuya gasped as Blade-Messiah suddenly burst out of the flames, sword raised and ready to strike.

"Quit hogging the spotlight!"

Yuya suddenly felt something collide with him from the side, knocking him away.

The cause of this was Yuri (Greedy Venom), who had flown up and knocked Yuya away from the rampaging monster's range.

Yuri's (Greedy Venom's) hands flew forward and caught the blade, not caring about the flesh that the blade was starting to slice through.

"Yuri…!" Yuya gasped.

"You're my prey…!" Yuri said with a wide grin, "I may have calmed down a bit… but you're just a mindless beast! You're right where I want you…!"

Yuri's (Greedy Venom's) wings extended out and snapped to Blade-Messiah's arms while two more mouths extended out from behind Yuri to latch onto the dragon's legs.

Blade-Messiah let out a frustrated roar as black light formed in its mouth, immediately firing it at Yuri.

Despite the close-ranged blast, Yuri kept his grip on the roaring monster as tight as ever.

As he did this, Yuri's (Greedy Venom's) chest opened up to reveal the area where his strongest laser fired out of.

"I'll kill you…!" Yuri roared as overflowing green light formed at his chest before firing and blasting the rampaging dragon at point-blank range.

The beam blasted through Blade-Messiah, continuing towards the ground where it hit the ground and caused a massive explosion at the point of impact.

Suddenly, however, Blade-Messiah's hand burst out of the green light and latched onto Yuri's face as he continued to fire the beam of light.

"Ack…!" Yuri gasped.

The beam suddenly stopped, and Blade-Messiah had moved forward and latched onto Yuri, placing him in a headlock using both its arms and legs to squeeze Yuri's neck.

"Gah… what the—I thought you were rampaging…!" Yuri gasped as it became harder to breathe.

"YURI!" Yugo yelled.

Yugo (Crystal Wing) blasted forward in an attempt to ram Blade-Messiah.

"No, you idiot…!" Yuri started to gasp.

In an instant, Blade-Messiah shifted its position into a position where he could throw Yuri, and proceeded to do just that at Yugo.

"AGH!" Yugo yelled as Yuri slammed into him, knocking both of them to the ground.

"Why you…!" Yuto (Dark Requiem) yelled as he charged forward as well.

Suddenly, Blade-Messiah took an unfamiliar stance as it turned to face Yuto.

"Wha…!"

With movements Yuto hadn't seen before, he was suddenly and effortlessly grabbed and thrown behind him in a magnificent display of what Yuto assumed to be martial arts.

It was like Yuto had just gone through the dragon, as if it wasn't even there.

"Damn…!" Yuto cursed as he turned around and tried to swing his tail at the beast.

Again, it was like the dragon wasn't even there.

Blade-Messiah effortlessly weaved around Yuto's tail and moved forward.

And then, Yuto felt something crunch inside of him as a fist dug deep into his stomach.

"Gah…!?"

Blade-Messiah had swords… but it hadn't even used them at that moment. It had simply closed the distance between it and Yuto in an instant, and proceeded to strike Yuto in every place where it hurt the most, before dealing a powerful blow to his stomach.

"This is… impossible… you can't move like this if you're not thinking…!" Yuto choked for air.

But when he looked into the dragon's eyes, for a moment, he saw calmness.

"_Is… is he regaining some of his lost sanity…?" _Yuto thought, "_No… that still isn't Soul, but he's calming down…"_

A kick to the side of Yuto's head, and he suddenly felt himself crash into the ground below him.

"Agh… whatever Syrup's doing, it's working…" Yuto gasped as he struggled to his feet, "but it's making him that much more of a fearsome opponent…!"

"Take this…!"

Yuto looked up to see Yuya transform into Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon before slamming his tail down on Blade-Messiah, slamming the dragon to the ground before landing himself.

Blade-Messiah immediately recovered and charged at Yuya with countless blades flying around itself.

Yuto thought Yuya would move to dodge… but instead, he charged forward without any hesitation.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Yuya screamed as he ignored the blades clanging against the armor of Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon, immediately ramming his head into Blade-Messiah with full force.

Blade-Messiah retreated a few meters, growling at Yuya as steam seemed to come out of its open mouth.

"_This is it… I'll use my trump card…" _Yuya thought to himself, "_This situation is good… if I charge at him at full speed with Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon, he'll have to take me head-on… and Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon won't lose in that kind of competition!" _

"Come at me! Soul!" Yuya yelled as he shone with blue and green light, purple electricity already starting to crackle around him.

"**GRO $%^!()*^%!"**

The roar that Blade-Messiah let loose in response was distorted, as though it was a mixture of many different voices and roars all at once.

"_Dragon of dual-colored eyes. Unleash your black scale of wrath!" _Yuya yelled as he ran forward, glowing blue and green.

Blade-Messiah suddenly drew a different sword, different from all of the others.

It glowed with yellow, holy light… but that light slowly turned black to match the rest of the dragon's body, and it flared up with that black light intensely.

Yuya could feel the wind start to whirl around Blade-Messiah, as though the blade was causing a storm with itself at the center.

"**Envelope my will! Dragon with eyes of rage, Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!" **Yuya yelled as purple electricity flared violently around his transforming body, the light dispersing to reveal the massive black dragon.

The two black dragons appeared and roared at each other, electricity forming at the fang on Yuya's (Rebellion's) right fist.

"If I hold back on the first two attacks, I'll be able to unleash the third one at full power…!" Yuya muttered as he charged forward with his fist raised.

Yuya flew forward and swung his fist at Blade-Messiah. As he did this, Blade-Messiah's sword flared with even more black light as it swung the blade at Yuya.

Yuya's fist clashed with Blade-Messiah's sword, and purple lightning clashed against black light, competing for supremacy.

They clashed for ten seconds before they were both blasted and repelled away from each other.

Yuya immediately transferred the energy from the last attack to his left fist, and the fang on that fist flared with electricity.

"The second…!" He yelled as he charged forward and swung again.

Blade-Messiah immediately recovered and swung it's blade again, repelling Yuya's second attack just like the first, but this time knocking him a fair distance back.

"Then the last one will…!" Yuya declared as the electricity transferred to the dual-fangs at his jaw, his wings opening up and flaring with purple electricity as well.

As he did this, Blade-Messiah raised its blade above its head…

Yuya charged forward, slamming his fangs into the ground as he blasted toward Blade-Messiah.

The black light surrounding Blade-Messiah's sword started to flare up…

"**Rebellious Wrath!" **Yuya roared.

The blade suddenly flared violently with black light, and the blade became a sharp pillar of black light that extended high into the heavens.

Yuto's eyes widened. "Yuya, WAIT!" He yelled.

"**STRIKE DISOBEY!" **

The gigantic mass of purple electricity tore violently through the ground as it charged towards Blade-Messiah. But Blade-Messiah's mouth suddenly started moving.

"_**Swallow the sun… Blackout Punisher…!"**_

Blade-Messiah swung the blade down, bringing the pillar of black light down with it.

The overwhelming mass of black light came down on the mass of purple lightning, and the electricity flared up to meet it.

Yuya roared as he clashed against this blade of light, the ground cracking and turning to dust underneath him. "Gaa— GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

_It burns._

_It burns, it burns, it burns._

_It burns it burns it burns it burns._

_Itburnsitburnsitburnsitburnsitburnsitburns…!_

"Ah— AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Yuya roared as he felt an unbearable burning sensation spread through him as he clashed against this light.

_This is dangerous_

_I have to _

_I to run_

_have to run_

_I have run_

_**I have to run**_

"Ahh… AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Yuya's screams, or yells, or roars… whatever they were, the crowd probably thought they were just Yuya trying to psyche himself up.

Yuzu, meanwhile, could feel herself getting more and more nervous by the second.

She had a bad feeling, a terrible feeling that sunk deep into the bottom of her stomach and made her feel nauseous.

"AAAAAAHHH! Ahh… AHHHHHHHH!" Yuya roared as he started to push back against the oppressive, black-colored light that was crashing down on him.

He couldn't run, he didn't have that choice.

He gathered up all of the courage he needed in order to press forward, and the electricity surrounding him started to grow in size.

Yuya raised his head, and he started to move forward and push back the pillar of black light.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

**End**

**No bonus scene again, sorry.**

**Originally this was gonna go on for MUCH longer, but turns out "Much longer" is a bit absurd considering the length of this chapter alone.**

**Anyways, time for some shameless self-advertising:**

**I'm on tumblr now. Check me out, I guess? .com**


	22. Chapter 22: At Long Last

**Someone pointed out that Soul has a fighting style similar to Gilgamesh from Fate/Stay Night. I will admit it right now.**

**It is purely coincidence. I am, however, rolling with it.**

**So, yeah, I'm into the Fate franchise now.**

**Let me explain. I created Soul, WAY before I even knew about Gilgamesh's existence, both in history and Fate. Soul's ability to use swords as projectiles was something I thought was original until I learned about Fate.**

**However! Gilgamesh is great, so I will roll with it just as planned.**

**Check out my Tumblr!**

**I go by the same name as here, oddeyes588**

**Chapter 22: At long last…**

Hot.

It felt hot.

Yuzu felt hot.

Her heart-rate accelerated. Her breathing got heavier.

"_What…"_

Her face was flushed, and her knees started to buckle.

She tried to reach out for Serena, hoping to lean on her sister for support. Yuzu didn't know why, but she felt sick…

But, to her surprise, Serena was clutching her chest and leaning heavily on the railings just like her. And it wasn't just Serena. Ruri and Rin also looked awful.

Suddenly, she felt cold and hot at the same time. She felt drenched in sweat in an instant, and her body felt like it was on fire. At the same time, however, she felt a weird kind of coolness reverberating through her body.

Black spots were starting to appear in her vision. Was she blacking out? Why?

She practically collapsed against the railing, breathing hard.

"Yu… ya…"

She could've sworn she heard the sound of a powerful beast roaring.

* * *

"You… you've been what?" Soul asked.

"Living! Well, more like being a spectator in your life, but I've always been with you since that day." Cahya said nonchalantly, "Not in a creepy way, though."

"Wait… so does that mean…?" Syrup started to ask.

Cahya smiled at her. "Yup! I'm technically the same age as Soul! Though, I guess I'm technically one year younger…"

Both Soul and Syrup stared at the young girl before them.

"Oh, my appearance? Well, since I never actually grew up physically in life, it seems that I'm stuck looking like this…" Cahya sighed.

"So, you've… lived a life, through me, essentially?" Soul asked.

Cahya thought for a moment before smiling. "Well, I never had any control over anything so it's debatable, but I went to school with you, learned with you, and matured with you." She explained. "Though, not physically, as you can see."

Soul leaned back, as though a large weight had suddenly been lifted off of his shoulders.

"So… you got to live some form of the life you missed…" he sighed.

Cahya smiled at him again. "Yes… normally, it should have been impossible."

"Then how did you do it?" Syrup asked.

"It's a long story," Cahya sighed, "so buckle in…"

_There are a lot of stories about vengeful spirits remaining in this world because of unfinished business._

_Who knew that, though rare, it could be true?_

_In my case, it wasn't anger that kept me in this world. I was just in so much despair… I had unfinished business, because I knew that my kind older brother would blame himself for my death._

_But still, it should've been impossible._

_I tried to hold onto Soul, to keep myself anchored to this world._

_But it was impossible. The dead are meant to pass on. My regrets just weren't enough to keep me in this world for long._

_But as my hold started to slip, I suddenly felt something grab my arm and refuse to let go._

_I opened my eyes, and there it was._

_The Blade-Messiah Dragon, at least incorporeally, had burst out of you and grabbed me as I started to pass on._

_Next thing I knew, I was in the landscape of your mind._

"Blade-Messiah… did what?" Soul asked.

"You've hated your power this whole time, and with what you knew, it was perfectly justified." Cahya said softly, "But the power of a duelist comes from the beings of the Spirit World, the monsters. Though rare, the full spirit of a monster will inhabit a duelist to give them strength, and this is slightly more common with Ritual Duelists." She explained.

_I tried and tried to communicate with you… but every time I tried to be specific, you wouldn't hear it. I could only communicate with you through brief and vague messages._

_And unfortunately, you gained some demons that day._

_Your self-loathing manifested as the voices you hear in your head. There are three voices, and I was one of them. I was the supportive one._

_So, as I searched for a way to communicate directly with you again, I focused my efforts towards being the thing that kept you together._

_Years passed and I matured mentally along with you. Though it annoyed me that no matter what, I still had the body of a child. But those were just trivial matters._

_No matter what I did, I had no way of talking to you completely._

_My situation here was never permanent. One day, I was sure to be repelled from your body as a soul that doesn't belong._

_But then, you made a friend._

_She was bubbly, cheerful, peppy, and bright. Honestly, the opposite of you._

_Yet you got along so well._

_I was happy. Perhaps now, even if I failed to save you, she could instead._

_Then, she made her first trip into your mind._

_I had never imagined that there could be someone with such vast amounts of Spiritual Energy. At first, I thought she was a monster and hid myself._

_But she was here to help, I was sure of it._

_And she was the perfect one._

_With such vast amounts of Spiritual Energy, it was perfectly possible for her to forcibly drag you into the deepest parts of your mind, where I resided. Though, I suppose I'm putting it a bit crudely._

_The fact is, while I don't know why Syrup has so much power, she was instrumental in bringing you here._

Soul looked over at Syrup. She looked like she was fidgeting in her seat.

"Syrup?"

Syrup suddenly turned to face him, looking surprised.

"A-ah…?" She stuttered.

Cahya giggled. "It's clearly something that I have no right to pry in. As thanks for your help, the least I can do is leave it alone."

"So…" Soul decided to ask the question on both his and Syrup's mind.

It pained him to do it. He wanted to stay here with his sister and talk with her for days, catching up on all the conversations they had missed.

But he couldn't.

He knew that something was happening outside.

* * *

"A-agh…!"

"Urk…!"

"Gah…!"

Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri each let out audible gasps as pain surged in their chests.

Blade-Messiah's attack suddenly dissipated instantly, and Yuya (Odd-Eyes Rebellion) was floating in place as a menacing, inky black aura emanated off of him.

Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon was already a particularly dark-themed monster, so to the spectators, it must've looked normal.

But something inside Yuto's gut told him that he wasn't looking at Yuya anymore.

He was watching a beast stare down another beast.

Meanwhile, however, the more insightful teachers were beginning to feel uneasy.

"What… what is this feeling…?" Judai muttered as he watched the two monsters stare each other down.

"Is it… deja vu?" Yusei replied as he held his head.

"Yeah… but at the same time, I'm certain I've never seen anything like this before…" Judai said as he held his own head.

"Yuma, those are your students, right?" Yusei turned to look at Yuma.

Yuma was shocked for different reasons.

"What the heck! Since when were my students this talented!" He exclaimed, "Three of them are notorious for sleeping in my class!"

_Yuya_

_Yugo_

_Soul_

"Well, one of them is the Pendulum kid, right?" Yusei asked. "By the way, Atem said he would handle it, but has he actually done anything with that kid since then?"

Yuma scratched his head. "Hm… not that I know of…"

Back at the fight, both Yuya and Blade-Messiah were growling at eachother.

Yuto could somehow tell, even as he clutched his chest in pain.

_That wasn't Yuya._

He, Yugo, and Yuri had all lost their transformations and were on the ground, exhausted and clutching their chests.

Yuya was the only one fighting right now.

"Of all… the rotton times… to get a fucking heart-attack…!" Yuri growled.

"I don't think… this is a heart-attack…" Yugo gasped.

"I. Don't. Care. Fusion!" Yuri snapped.

Yuri and Yugo, still able to bicker despite the circumstances, were cut off as Yuya let loose a ear-piercing roar.

Blade-Messiah responded with a roar of equal magnitude, and suddenly, they were gone.

Yugo blinked. "Huh—"

Suddenly, a shockwave knocked them all flat on the ground.

"Guh…! What the…?" Yuto gasped as he looked up.

His grey eyes widened.

This wasn't possible a moment ago.

Yuya couldn't do this before. None of them could.

Yet…

Flying through the air, matching Blade-Messiah's speed perfectly, Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon clashed with Blade-Messiah as they took to the sky. Both of them became streaks of light as they clashed repeatedly in the sky. With each clash, a shockwave powerful enough to push Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri flat onto the ground would reverberate through the stadium.

This wasn't strength at Yuya's level.

Yuto could hardly even keep his eyes on the fight. One second they were somewhere, and the next second they had clashed somewhere else.

Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon was matching Crystal Wing in terms of speed, and clashing perfectly with Blade-Messiah.

Speaking of Blade-Messiah, the armored dragon had now gone through countless weapons.

With each clash, Soul saw shards of metal fly as whatever weapon Blade-Messiah was holding was shattered. He was certain he had seen swords, spears, and even a halberd at some point.

It was good that they were fighting in the sky. Blade-Messiah was also firing swords as projectiles, and it was similar to firing a machine gun at this point. Yuto could see them fly through the sky like beams of light before crashing into the barrier that kept the spectators safe.

On Yuya's end, electricity would crackle violently in all directions every time he made contact with Blade-Messiah. At one point, he even managed to grab Blade-Messiah's head and slam it into the barrier, dragging his enemy ruthlessly across the barrier before Blade-Messiah slammed him with a particularly powerful attack in retaliation, knocking him away.

Finally, however, they stopped clashing and settled on the ground, glaring eachother down.

Blade-Messiah was holding a new sword that Yuto didn't recognize.

The sword crackled with electricity and purple flames, and Yuto suddenly felt the air freeze.

It wasn't a metaphor. Yuto felt the air literally freeze as the tension in the air skyrocketed. Yuto felt like he was going to suffocate and audibly gasped.

He could still breathe, but the source of this atmosphere was because of the weapon in Blade-Messiah's hand.

Snapping Yuto out of his trance, Yuya suddenly let out a blood-curdling roar as electricity crackled even more violently around him.

Was it going to end now? Yuto didn't even know if he was even looking at Yuya right now.

Blade-Messiah took a stance, holding the demonic-looking blade up with both hands, and the tip pointing towards the sky.

The wings on Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon's back ignited, and a sinister light started to grow in its maw.

As the two dragons readied their ultimate attacks at each other, Yuto heard the voices of Soul and Yuya.

"**Fall! **_**Balmung!"**_

"**Strike them down! **_**Thunder of Revolution - Lightning Strike!"**_

Blade-Messiah swung its blade down, and with a massive explosion of light, a massive beam of light flew towards Yuya.

Yuya responded in kind.

With a massive roar, a beam of darkness and lightning blasted from his maw, flying to meet with Blade-Messiah's own beam of light.

Instead, however, they passed each other.

Both beams of light passed each other and continued forward to destroy their respective targets.

And with an explosion of light, both attacks met their targets.

* * *

"Fascinating. Truly fascinating…" Roger muttered to himself as he watched the match through a monitor. "I never thought I would be reminded of that day…"

* * *

"You understand now, right?" Cahya asked.

Soul looked down and nodded. "Yes… but still…"

Could he really control this power? After rejecting it for so long?

Cahya could seemingly tell what was going on in his mind, as she cupped his face in her hands and looked him right in the eyes.

"You'll see me again, I promise." She said confidently, "We need to spend some more time together. And you should be more confident in your abilities. I know you can do this…"

Soul softly held one of his little sister's hands, gripping it tightly.

"Right… just watch, your brother needs to look cool for once…"

Syrup took one look at him and smiled. "_It's funny. He's always looked so relaxed, but now… it really feels like he's happy…"_

"Are we ready?" Syrup asked.

Soul took a deep breath before nodding his head. "You better stick around until we get to talk again." He said firmly.

Cahya nodded. "It's a promise."

A door had appeared in the field in front of them, and Soul started striding confidently toward it.

As Syrup started to follow him, she suddenly felt Cahya's small hand grasp her own.

She looked back at the young girl, tilting her head in confusion.

Cahya's face was downcast. "In this realm, it's possible to feel things like negative emotions off of people who have suffered…"

Syrup's eyes narrowed.

Cahya's downcast face suddenly changed into what looked like a forced smile.

"I know this is rude… but it's a little hypocritical to try so hard to save someone else, when you haven't saved yourself." She stated bluntly.

Syrup stared at the girl.

"Do you know?" She asked.

Cahya shrugged. "It's just a theory that I can't prove. You don't have to tell me if I'm correct or not." She said. "But I hope you take what I said into account."

Syrup bit her bottom lip and removed her hand from Cahya's.

"…It was nice meeting you in person." She said before turning away and moving to join Soul at the doorway out.

Cahya couldn't help but notice that Syrup's usually cheerful tone was nowhere to be found in her words.

* * *

When the smoke cleared, Yuya was lying limp against some rubble, in his normal form.

He seemed at least half-conscious to Yuto, but his main concern was with Soul. Blade-Messiah was still present.

Mind you, the armored dragon was _heavily _fucked up. It's dark aura was gone, and it was back to its usual golden splendor, despite all of the massive damage everywhere. It's armor was chipped in almost every location, and was even falling apart in some places.

But its eyes were still red with rage, and it was slowly stepping forward towards Yuya.

Yuto was somewhat versed in myths and legends, and he was certain he had heard the name "Balmung" somewhere.

Then, he remembered.

Though it was, most likely fictional… Balmung was said to be a sword that specializes in killing dragons. Considering Blade-Messiah's abilities… it was perfectly possible that he possessed weapons with specific effects and abilities. Perhaps what he had just used was a sword that was highly effective on Dragon monsters, which inspired its name.

Regardless, Yuto could easily see from the results of the battle. Both of the attacks were of similar, if not the same, magnitude. Yet Yuya had seemingly taken more damage from Blade-Messiah than the damage that Blade-Messiah had taken.

* * *

Yuya slowly opened his eyes. "_What… happened…?" _

The last thing he remembered was clashing against Blade-Messiah. Then he…

Blade-Messiah was walking toward him.

Yuya's eyes widened as he scrambled to his feet. "Guh…!"

He didn't know what had just happened, but his head was pounding and his chest was burning. He also felt severely exhausted, like he had just run three marathons in the span of a minute.

"Guh… Odd-Eyes!"

A flash of green and red light, and an injured red dragon now faced down the injured gold dragon.

Exhaustion doesn't just go away. Yuya instantly felt his knees start to buckle under his own weight.

Then, Blade-Messiah charged him.

Raising a chipped and damaged sword, Blade-Messiah roared as it attempted to strike down the enemy before it.

In response, Yuya raised his head… and grabbed the blade with his teeth.

A loud clash reverberated again as Yuya bit into the metal of the blade as hard as he could in order to keep it in place.

"_Guh…! Spiral Flame—"_

Yuya was cut off by a powerful impact against his chest, and he realized that Blade-Messiah had just kicked him. He nearly let go of his grip on the sword, but he kept holding on.

"_Hurry up and come back, Soul…!"_

He felt another kick, and his grip lessened again.

One more kick and he wouldn't be able to keep standing. "_I… can't hold out…" _

Then, just as he saw Blade-Messiah's leg start to come up for him again…

"YUYA!"

Blade-Messiah suddenly found itself pinned at all sides by Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing, and Starving Venom, in addition to Odd-Eyes.

"Hands off…" Yuri growled.

"Our little…" Yugo added.

"Brother!" Yuto finished.

Blade-Messiah roared, enraged by this resistance, as power began to swell in its injured body.

"This has gone on for too long…! Somebody shatter that _fucking crystal!_" Yuri cursed as he held the injured beast down.

"As much as I hate to say it… Yuri's right!" Yuto grunted. "Yugo!"

Yugo's eyes widened. "But…!"

"Wait, guys! Look!" Yuya called out.

Blade-Messiah's eyes were starting to flash green, and they were starting to hear a human voice within its roars.

"Aah…! Aah…!"

"Good! All the more reason!" Yuri snapped. "Yugo! Smash that crystal or else I'll—OW!"

Yuri snarled as Blade-Messiah thrashed its head and smashed its armored forehead into Yuri's own head.

"Guh… alright!" Yugo yelled as he detached from Blade-Messiah and flew at full speed toward Soul's crystal.

"Fight it! Fight it, Soul!" Yuya yelled as their workload was increased. Without Yugo, the dragon managed to free one of its arms and spawn a blade in it.

"Crap…!" Yuto cursed.

"**Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!" **Yugo roared as he spun through the air and slammed into the crystal, cracks starting to appear.

__"_Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon! Mirage Dragon!" _Yuya called out.

Immediately, the two Pendulum Spirits of red and green appeared and latched onto Blade-Messiah's free arm, preventing him from swinging it down on one of the brothers.

"Damn it! This thing is hard…!" Yugo grunted as he started to push through the crystal, annoyed by its increased durability thanks to the team-member difference.

Suddenly, Yuri and Yuto were both blown away by Blade-Messiah, allowing the dragon another free hand to spawn a blade in. It spun the blade around in its hand before swinging it down to stab into Yuya.

"Yuya!" Yuri shouted.

Then, Blade-Messiah's eyes stopped flashing green.

* * *

It was like all of his limbs were about to be ripped apart.

No matter how hard he tugged, no matter how hard he pulled, his efforts did nothing.

All of this rampaging energy, it was like a soda bottle that had been given a good shake, and had just been opened.

_Stop…!_

It didn't respond to his command, and Soul couldn't help but think "God, what a pain" even through the pain.

_Come on… you're my power, so quit throwing a fucking tantrum…!_

He pulled and he pulled, it felt like he was trying to pull at a bungee cord. The more he pulled the harder it became, and if he faltered for even a second, he would be snapped back to the beginning.

Then, he saw it.

Floating among the void of red that he was trapped in, Soul saw the outline of a massive dragon, glaring at him.

"What… are you mad…?"

The beast snarled.

"Yeah, I guess you are…" Soul laughed weakly, "I did keep you sealed for all these years…"

It stared at him.

"Looking back, I was pretty pathetic, wasn't I?" He grunted as he started to pull at his limbs with renewed strength. "But… never again. I will live, and I'll find the bastard that hurt me… no, hurt Cahya…"

It was like he was wearing chains around his arms and legs, and those chains just shattered.

He now stood in a barren field that stretched out infinitely. There was a small hill in front of him, and a sword stuck out of the ground at the top of the hill like a gravemarker.

He walked up the hill and grasped the hilt of the sword.

"Watch me. I'll show you that I'm worthy of your strength."

He pulled out the sword, and light filled the area.

* * *

Blade-Messiah suddenly stopped, and its eyes shone completely green.

"Huh…?" Yuya muttered.

"…Fuck, that was awful—ACK!"

That was Soul's voice.

As if all of the adrenaline wore off, Soul suddenly crumpled to the ground as his transformation came undone, all of the pain from the battle suddenly hitting him like a truck.

"Hah…!" Yuya gasped as his Pendulum Spirits vanished, and he returned to his normal form.

He saw Yuto and Yuri do the same, and in the distance, he saw Yugo finally crash through the crystal, shattering it completely before landing on the ground and returning to normal as well.

It… it was over.

Yuya's head pounded, and his chest felt hot.

But they had done it.

He didn't even hear the announcer declare their victory, as Yuya immediately fell backwards and lost consciousness, falling into a deep sleep.

But before that… Yuya heard the faint cheering of the crowd.

…They were cheering? But… Yuya hadn't prioritized entertainment during this match, he had prioritized Soul's life.

What… what was this feeling of uneasiness that filled his chest?

"_It… must be my imagination..."_

* * *

"Yuzu? Yuzu, are you alright…?"

Yuzu slowly opened her eyes to see Serena shaking her shoulder. They were still at the arena, and her sisters looked exhausted, but it seemed like Yuzu was the only one to pass out,

"Urgh… what happened…?" Yuzu mumbled as she rubbed her head. Her legs still felt shaky, but she could stand.

"I dunno. Suddenly we all felt really sick, then you just collapsed…" Serena explained.

"The match is over, though." Ruri pointed out, though her voice was a little weak.

Yuzu gasped, her eyes snapping open. "It's over!? Who won?"

Her question was answered by Rin's relieved smile.

Yuzu looked out and saw Yugo gasping for air behind the shattered pieces of Soul's crystal, while Soul, Yuya, Yuto, and Yuri each laid on the ground nearby, completely exhausted.

"_Hey, that kid was amazing, right?"_

"_Isn't he just a first-year, though?"_

"_Actually, aren't they all first-years?"_

"_Damn, UDA's incredible…"_

Yuzu let out a sigh of relief as she leaned against the railing again, her body drenched in sweat. For once, she was actually grateful for the costume she was wearing. It exposed skin, which was embarrassing, but it was also quite airy and easy to breathe in.

She then noticed Yuya being loaded onto a stretcher and shot back to her feet.

"Come on! Let's go and meet them at the hospital." Yuzu said as she started to run off. "Yuya was way too reckless! I'm gonna make sure he gets an earful when I get to him!"

In the commotion, Yuzu unfortunately didn't notice that her bracelet was glowing softly.

* * *

It was a pure white landscape.

An endless white void that stretched out infinitely, and Yuya was walking in it.

It was… peaceful.

Yuya looked at this pure landscape and thought it was peaceful.

But… something felt off. He looked around, but no matter where he looked, it was just white. There wasn't anything wrong.

Then, he felt a chill.

It was like a cold, wet hand had just latched onto his shoulder.

He spun around, shocked. But there was nothing there.

He could still feel the hand, though. He swatted at the empty space around his shoulder, but nothing happened.

Then, he saw it.

Right in front of him, a single spot of black was visible in the endless expanse of white.

It was getting bigger… or perhaps it was getting closer?

Yuya didn't know why, but his entire body tensed up in fear.

So he turned and ran.

Springing as quickly as he could, he dashed in the opposite direction of the black dot. He took a look behind him, and his eyes widened.

The black dot was expanding, and it was growing closer.

No… it wasn't even a dot at all.

It was a mass of black, inky hands.

"What the…!?"

Yuya ran, but the black was overtaking the white faster than he could run.

He looked behind him again, and saw countless hands reach out for him.

And then, just as he saw one of the hands reach out and almost grab his face…

Everything vanished.

* * *

Yuya opened his eyes, looking up at a white ceiling. He was still in the same clothing as before, but there was a series of lamps hanging over him that casted green light on his body. As he laid in this light, he could actually feel the various bruises along his body healing.

"Ah! You're awake!"

Yuya recognized Yuzu's voice. "Ah, Yuzu—"

SMACK

Before he could get anything out, he felt a familiar pang of pain across the back of his head as Yuzu smacked him with her Paper Fan.

"That's what you get for being reckless!" Yuzu declared.

Yuya winced as he rubbed the place that Yuzu had ruthlessly assaulted. "Hey, you would hit an injured man!?" He exclaimed.

"If you don't want the fan, then don't be an idiot!" Yuzu snapped back.

"Y-you're not my mom!" Yuya exclaimed.

Yuzu's face flushed. "O-of course not! I'm just the one who keeps you from doing stupid things!"

"Ah, still going with the tsundere act?" Ruri teased from nearby.

Yuya looked around and saw Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri in similar beds next to him, and the rest of Yuzu's sisters were here as well.

"R-Ruri!" Yuzu shouted.

Ruri flashed Yuzu a "Tee-hee!" Kind of look before promptly looking away.

Yuri, meanwhile, noticed that they were still in their costumes. "So, what's with the skimpy outfits? Don't tell me that you've all fallen for me…"

Yuzu, Rin, and Ruri each shot death-glares at Yuri.

"Ooh, such intense stares…" Yuri grinned. "Oh, stop it! You'll make me blush!"

Serena stared at him. "They are pretty nice outfits. I can move easily in them, though it exposes a bit too much skin…"

Yuri had his ever-present grin on his face. "Glad to hear that you like it…" he said with an evil grin.

"Why do I have a bad feeling?" Yugo asked.

"It's Yuri, isn't it justified to always have a bad feeling around him?" Rin said as she sat next to Yugo.

"Fair point."

"But seriously… you guys didn't have to dress up for us." Yuto said as he sat up in his bed.

Yugo, surprisingly, nodded. "Yeah, seriously. As great as you guys look…" he said as he eyed Rin, "your brother is probably going to kill us—"

Before Yugo could get slugged for the way he was looking at Rin, the door burst open to reveal Shun. Everybody in the room froze as Shun scanned the room, filled with four exhausted brothers and four sisters dressed with, in Shun's opinion, too little.

Everyone froze.

Shun took a deep breath. "I'm gonna step outside for a bit…"

A moment passed.

Yugo spoke up. "Guys, did we break him…?"

They suddenly heard the sound of Shun's fist slamming into the wall from the outside.

"Damn, no luck, huh?" Yuri stated.

Shun slowly stepped back into the room and stared lifelessly at everyone.

"…When any of you meet me in the tournament, I will be perfectly allowed to slam you into the ground harder than you could ever imagine.

"Shun…?" Yuto started to speak up.

"You get to be slammed with slightly less effort, but slammed nonetheless." Shun said bluntly.

"O-okay…?"

"Well, you're surprisingly calm about this, Big Brother!" Ruri said happily.

"I'm not. I am seething with a burning rage unlike anything you could ever imagine," Shun explained. "Can't you see how angry I am?"

Shun's eye was twitching, and veins were starting to appear on his forehead.

"Holy shit, we actually broke him…" Yuri muttered under his breath.

"I'm going back to my room. Burn the costumes." Shun stated emotionlessly as he left the room.

* * *

Syrup, who had recovered much faster than the doctors had expected, walked into the room where Soul was resting by using a crutch to help her with her still partially-broken leg.

Soul was sitting in the recovery bed, and for the first time… Syrup saw Soul _without _his hoodie on.

"I see that you're not cold anymore." Syrup said with a smile.

"No clue what you're talking about" Soul stated bluntly.

Syrup could've sworn that she saw the edge of his mouth curl into a small grin.

"Thanks, by the way."

Syrup smiled and walked up to him as he faced away from her, and hugged him from behind. "No problem, Soul…"

"Ah…" Soul muttered as he continued to face away from her.

"Hm? Is something wrong?" Syrup asked.

"N-no… sorry, I'm just tired…" Soul muttered.

"Oh! Well, then I'll let you sleep, then!" She said as she released Soul from the hug and jumped back. "Though, I guess you already do that a lot, right?"

"Yeah…" Soul replied.

As Syrup left the room, Soul placed a hand up to his forehead.

For once, he now felt incredibly… hot.

Specifically, his face.

Realizing that his face was red, Soul scoffed at himself. "Geez… was the hug necessary…?" he muttered.

* * *

The healing lights at the hospital had recovered Yuya and his brothers enough so that they could go back to their rooms. One thing that Yuya noticed was…

"Did… did you guys come all the way up here in those outfits?" He asked.

Answering his question, they started to walk out of the hospital and Yuzu immediately hid behind Yuya as they started walking in the outfits in public.

"Ah."

Looking at Yuzu's outfit… it really was kind of attention-grabbing. Each costume had large aesthetics and decorations that made them stand out even more than the fact that they were walking around in what was essentially a cheerleader outfit.

Yuya also happened to notice a few guys staring at Yuzu as she attempted (and failed) to hide behind Yuya.

His lips curled into a pout as he started to take off his jacket, which he usually left around his shoulders to just flow behind him.

It was a little difficult because of the Odd-Eyes horns on Yuzu's back, but he managed it regardless. Yuzu looked up as Yuya covered her up as best as he could with his jacket.

"Yuya?"

"Just… stay behind me."

Yuya avoided her gaze and looked ahead, trying to keep Yuzu from seeing his face.

Yuzu blushed and started walking closer to his back.

Yuri, who was watching, scoffed and started to take off his red cape-like jacket. "As if I'm gonna lose to Yuya in gentlemanliness…"

Serena shot him a look. "Gentlemanly? Did you hit your head during that match?" She asked.

"Shut up and take the jacket."

"Fine, I'll let you swim in your delusions."

Yuri held out the red cape and Serena took it from him with a smug smile as she draped it around herself.

Yuto smiled as he saw both Yuya and Yuri offer their jackets to the girls that followed them and started to take off his own jacket.

Ruri smiled at him. "Oh? Joining your brothers in the gentlemanly act?"

Yuto's cheeks reddened, as he offered her his own black cape-jacket. He quickly regained his composure, though. "I suppose I am, aren't I?"

Ruri giggled as she took Yuto's jacket and draped it around herself.

Now, there was just Yugo and Rin.

"…"

"…"

Yugo stared at her. "What?"

Rin stared at him intensely.

Realizing what was going on, his face flushed indignantly.

"W-What!? Excuse me for not having a jacket! I wore the suit you made for me, and I'm not a weirdo who wears jackets like capes!" He exclaimed.

"Hm…" Rin pouted at him.

Yugo flinched. "G-geh…!"

Rin suddenly burst out laughing. "Ha! Don't worry, it would just be really cheesy if you did it after all three of your brothers did it first!"

"Hey! That doesn't make me feel any better, you know!" Yugo exclaimed.

Rin walked up beside him, her arms behind her back as she smiled with a bit of smugness. "Well, relax! I don't need a jacket, you just need to walk beside me and look intimidating."

"L-look intimidating…?" Yugo questioned.

Thinking for a bit, Yugo steeled his resolve and glared forward. He puffed out his chest and started to march forward in a goofy, forced, and awkward manner.

He was anything but intimidating.

Rin had a wide, genuine smile on her face as she laughed, walking alongside him and lightly smacking him in the arm.

* * *

"I thought you had broken your leg, Ms. Maple?"

Syrup jumped as she heard a familiar voice when she entered her room.

"Headmaster… Atem…" She mumbled as she turned to see him leaning against the wall in the corner of the room.

The doctors had chalked up Syrup's quick recovery to Syrup being "compatible" (whatever that meant) with the healing equipment available.

Syrup had just laughed it off, but now…

"I'm just trying to understand. Why is it that you heal at such a speed?" He asked, "And don't think I didn't notice your actions during the match your teammate was in."

Syrup's eyes widened. "_He knew…?"_

Atem simply pointed at his forehead cryptically as he stood up straight.

Syrup immediately turned away. "I have nothing to say, please leave…" she requested meekly.

Atem stared at her silently for a moment, but eventually…

"Very well, Ms. Maple… but first…"

Syrup whipped around to face him, and her eyes widened.

For a brief instant, she saw a glowing third eye on the Headmaster's forehead.

Then, a flash of blinding light.

When the light faded, Syrup's eyes were wide in shock. Atem smiled calmly as he discovered the answer to his questions about her. "Ah, I see now…"

* * *

"Look, it's _just _coffee, see!" Yuri said angrily.

Everyone stared at the cups of brown liquid suspiciously. Yuri had brought these drinks to them, and the last time he had been in charge of beverages, it didn't end well.

Serena sighed. "It's true, I came with him, he got these from a coffee shop." She confirmed.

"Well, if Serena says so…" Yuya muttered as he stared at the drinks. He didn't usually drink coffee, saying that it smelt like sadness and boiled dirt, but he didn't hate it…

What he was suspicious about, was why Yuri had gotten them _specifically _coffee. Coffee wasn't exactly a fitting drink for a celebration, right?

Also, another thing…

"By the way, why is Serena still in her costume?" Yuya asked. The rest of the girls had already changed out of their costumes, but Serena was still wearing hers. Mind you, Serena had strange tastes, so it wasn't too out of the ordinary for her to keep wearing it, but…

Yuri was grinning evilly. "Let's just say I won a bet and leave it at that, hm?"

_Earlier…_

"So, remember when you said you would do anything after I helped you out with measurements?" Yuri asked.

Serena stared at him. "Yeah, why?"

_Back to the present…_

"Personally, this is a pretty lax request." Serena sighed, "I honestly expected worse."

"Please, the rights to choose whenever you wear that thing is plenty enough for me…" Yuri said under his breath.

"Well, I've never heard of alcoholic coffee before…" Yugo said as he took his cup and eyed it, "So it should be fine, right?"

* * *

_Irish Coffee: A cocktail consisting of hot coffee, Irish whiskey, and sugar, stirred, and topped with cream. The coffee is drunk through the cream._

How could they have been such fools and trusted Yuri so lightly? Of course there was a form of coffee that was alcoholic. Even if there wasn't, Yuri would find a way to MAKE alcoholic coffee.

The truly baffling part, however, was that Serena was actually Yuri's partner-in-crime for this operation.

Yuzu had been a little more cautious and had only had one cup, and she was already starting to feel tipsy.

Meanwhile, everyone else was…

"RIIIIIIIIIN!"

"GET OFF!"

Both Yuri and Serena were still sober, having only pretended to drink but were instead filming the entire thing.

Well, Yuri was filming it. Serena was currently fighting off Yugo, who had mistaken her for Rin and was trying to glomp her.

Rin, meanwhile, had become a sad-drunk.

"Yugo…!" She wailed, her face bright red. "I'm right here…!"

Ruri was in a delirious state. "It's too hot in here…!" She sighed, "I need to wear less layers…"

As she said this, she was already starting to strip.

Yuto, meanwhile, panicked.

"RURI NO!" He shouted, grabbing her and keeping her from taking anything off.

"Get off… it's too hot…!" Ruri yelled weakly.

Yuto was definitely under the influence of Yuri's sneaky alcohol, and while he would usually be stopping her from stripping for any number of reasons… the drunk reason was this:

"No! I don't want anybody else to see you like that…!"

Yuzu's eyes were wide. This was a side of Yuto that she had never seen before. The strict, straight-faced, serious Yuto was… a possessive drunk?

"Damn it, you two…!" Yuzu cursed as she held her forehead, her face growing hotter by the second.

"Oh, I wouldn't focus on us, Yuzu!" Yuri called out gleefully.

Yuzu suddenly realized it. _Where was Yuya?_

"Yuzu…?"

Her greatest fear, realized.

Unlike the last time they were tricked into intoxication, Yuzu had been fully drunk while Yuya had to deal with her.

This time, it seemed that the positions were reversed.

Before she could react, she suddenly felt Yuya wrap his arms around her from behind and latch onto her.

"Eek—!" Yuzu squeaked as her face reddened and her body froze up.

"Yuzu~!" Yuya sighed as he drunkenly clung to her, "Hm… this feels nice…"

"Ah… ah… ah…!" Yuzu stammered as she tried to process what was happening. "Y-Yuya! How much did you d-drink!?"

"Ehehe… a lot…"

"_Crap."_

Despite the elation she felt as Yuya rubbed his cheek against her back, she fought those feelings and attempted to pry Yuya's arms away from her.

A big mistake.

Yuya noticed this and immediately held her tighter. "Hm… but it's nice here…"

"Y-Yuya… can't… breathe…!"

Yuya was now squeezing her from behind, his arms around her stomach, and clutching her with all of his strength.

The problem with that, however, is that if you squeeze a person that hard, it becomes a _little _difficult to breathe.

Hearing that, Yuya's grip weakened slightly, but was still wrapped too tightly around Yuzu to get him off of her.

Yuzu shot a glare at Yuri, who responded with his signature shit-eating grin.

Yuzu clenched her fist angrily before coming to the best decision her slightly-drunk mind could come up with. "Fine… as the only responsible, mostly-sober person in this room… I'll handle this myself!"

Standing up with Yuya still attached, she steeled her resolve. "Come on, Yuya… let's get you and everyone else to bed…" she sighed.

As she started to drag Yuya away, Yuri glanced at Serena.

"Serena?"

"Yeah?"

"Follow them. Record it, too."

"Right."

* * *

Soul sighed as he was finally released from recovery, donning his usual hoodie and starting to walk back to the hotel.

…

"It's awfully hot…" Soul muttered to himself as he tugged at his black hoodie. It was a pullover hoodie, and was rather thick. Soul had gotten it because it helped quite a bit when his body temperature was in disarray, but now that the seal wasn't present…

Soul decided to take a detour, specifically to the nearest clothes store.

"A lot of stuff has happened… maybe a wardrobe change would be nice…" he muttered out loud.

He stopped for a second.

"Isn't that right, Cahya?"

He didn't hear any response, but he suddenly felt a very uplifting sensation in his chest. That was enough of an answer for him.

Soul's usual outfit consisted of blue jeans, black sneakers, a white T-Shirt, and his pullover hoodie.

As he left the store, however, his outfit had subtle changes.

He had replaced his old hoodie with a new one, specifically a black zip-up hoodie instead of a pullover. He left the zipper undone, so his t-shirt was visible underneath it, making for a contrast between white and black.

He now wore new blue jeans, almost identical to his old ones, but with the ripped style instead.

"That feels better." Soul sighed as he started to make his way back to the hotel.

As he returned to the hotel room, his newest ability, aura-reading, suddenly kicked in.

He felt a strange aura of negative emotions around the room.

"Syrup?" He spoke out loud.

Syrup suddenly popped into the room, coming out of the bathroom. "A-ah! Soul! You're back!" She exclaimed, looking flustered.

Soul raised an eyebrow as his golden right-eye, though concealed by his hair, showed him Syrup's aura.

It was… shaky. It looked like it had just exploded and was just starting to come back together.

"Syrup…?"

Syrup's lip quivered momentarily before she suddenly started toward the door. "S-sorry! I just need to… do something!" She said quickly as she moved past him and left the room.

"Uh…" Soul started to call out before stopping.

Confusion and concern filled him. Syrup was normally very keen to notice things like a subtle change in appearance. She would usually make a big deal out of it.

She had just brushed off Soul's new appearance, which was… odd, to say the least, knowing how she usually acted.

But even more confusing was her aura. Why was it in such a state?

He considered following her.

"_Go on…"_

Spurred on by a familiar female voice in his head, he stepped out of the room and looked for her. She seemed to be long gone…

"I'll… check the lobby." Soul decided, walking towards the elevators.

* * *

Yuya passed out.

She was dragging his limp body towards his bed like he was some kind of ragdoll.

Actually, it was more accurate to say that Yuzu felt like she was getting rid of a body, mostly.

The hardest part, admittedly, was lifting Yuya's limp body into his bed. She had to get on his bed and pull him up onto it in order to do it.

Yuzu made a mental note to start working on her upper body strength.

"Alright… now I just have to do the same thing with everybody else…" she sighed. As she said this, her eyes drifted down to Yuya's sleeping face.

…

Instantly distracted, Yuzu started to try and make him as comfortable as possible. Making sure that his head was on the pillow, making sure he wasn't resting on one arm, making sure he wasn't too hot…

That last part was the problem.

Yuya wore green cargo pants. Yuzu definitely couldn't imagine sleeping comfortably in something like that.

"Maybe if I just leave the blankets off him…? No, what if that makes him too cold…?" She pondered out loud.

"Mm…"

Yuzu froze as she heard Yuya mumble something.

Then she unfroze as she noticed Yuya's facial expression twist into one of discomfort.

"Ah! Is he uncomfy!?" She exclaimed.

"Mm… nngh…"

No, was he dreaming about something?

Then, his face changed into a happy one, letting Yuzu release a sigh of relief.

"Mm…"

Yuzu smiled at him, moving her hand closer to brush some of his hair out of his eyes.

As she moved her hand closer, though, she suddenly felt herself get pulled forcefully closer.

Yuzu blinked. "E-eh!?"

A soft "thump!"

"Mm… smells nice…"

Yuzu, who was now trapped with Yuya halfway on top of her, almost screamed in embarrassment as her face burned red.

"_Wait! Waitwaitwaitwait! Doesn't this seem familiar!? Isn't this what I did to Yuya when Yuri first got us drunk!?" _Yuzu screamed inside her head. "_I-in any case! This is moving way too fast for me—I mean, this shouldn't be happening at all!"_

Yuzu's mind practically short-circuited as Yuya snuggled up next to her with one leg over her own legs.

"_Oh, crap he's a clingy cuddler!"_ Yuzu panicked, unsure of whether she could even will herself to do anything in this situation. "_Wait… stay calm, Yuzu. Is he awake? If he's awake then we can try to reason with him…"_

Yuya snored. He was in a deep, _deep _sleep. Unable to handle the alcohol now in his system, he was completely out of it, and probably out of it for the rest of the night.

"_NOOOOOOOO!" _Yuzu screamed mentally, "_How am I supposed to—wait, maybe I can inch my way out…?" _

She attempted to slowly crawl out from underneath Yuya's weight.

As if she had rolled a natural 1, Yuya's unconscious self noticed that the person he was snuggling up to was moving away, even if only slightly, and immediately proceeded to glomp her even more.

"_It's even worse now!" _

The worst part wasn't even the fact that she was completely and utterly trapped. The thing that had her panicking the most was…

"_He's… he's too close! I think my heart might explode…!"_

It was true. Yuya was positioned in a way where his head rested close to her chest, his arm on top of her stomach, and his leg on top of both her legs. She could both hear and feel his breath on her.

Looking again… yup. He was completely and utterly unconscious during this entire ordeal. Who knew that Yuya would attach to the closest heat-source in the bed?

"_Wait, that's it! I just need to give him something warmer to hold!" _Yuzu thought hopefully.

…

"_Yeah, except there's NOTHING HERE!"_

There was nothing anywhere near her that could count as something warmer than Yuzu, especially when her blood was burning with embarrassment this much.

Normally, she would have shoved Yuya off with all her strength and yelled at him for this, along with a special slap from her paper fan.

Except… Yuzu was still _somewhat _drunk, and therefore, much more susceptible to her own fluttering heart.

Also, his sleeping face was adorable and she didn't want to disturb it—

"_Wait, NO! WHAT AM I THINKING!?" _Yuzu screamed in her mind as the image of Yuya's sleeping face entered her mind.

Yuzu's lips trembled as she felt Yuya slowly creep closer and cuddle up to her in a drunken, affectionate manner.

"_I-It's fine… I just have to stay up and wait for Yuya to move around in his sleep and give me an opportunity to escape!" _Yuzu thought confidently.

Yuya moved his head around and Yuzu felt his breath on her neck.

"Eep…!"

Yuzu was in no way prepared for Wasted-Yuya to be this clingy and cuddly. She had heard that she was a bit loopy and air headed when she was drunk, so one could be grateful for the fact that one of them has always been somewhat sober.

But that always meant an ordeal for whoever wasn't completely drunk.

Yuzu felt his leg shift again and rub against her thigh.

"E-Eep…! I… I can do this…!" She whispered to herself.

Yuzu's face was bright red, her breathing was coarse and labored, and her heart was beating at a mile a minute. Her mouth hung open as she gasped for air as her body heated up, and she could have sworn she saw her breath as a fog for a moment.

"Hah…!" She sighed.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Soul, having checked the lobby and found nothing, ran outside.

Quickly brushing the hair away from his right eye for a moment, he scanned the area looking for any spiritual signs of Syrup.

He found it.

Following her, Soul found himself walking towards a large park. It was already nighttime and the sky was dark with clouds. Soul couldn't even see the moon.

"Why is Syrup here…?" Soul muttered as he noticed that Syrup's "trail" was leading into a forest-like section of the park.

The trees were now getting thicker, and it was even harder to see.

Soul stumbled on a particularly large root, but managed to catch himself by grabbing onto a branch. "Tch… fucking pain…" he cursed as he stepped over the troublesome root.

Then, he suddenly found himself someplace bright.

For some reason, he instinctively ducked and hid behind a tree, peeking out from the side.

It was then that his eyes widened.

What…

"_What is that… no, what is she…?" _

Soul didn't know. He had never heard of this before. Actually, no… it seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember anything about it off the top of his head.

As he saw this clearing, the clouds suddenly parted, allowing the moonlight to shine through and beautifully illuminate the clearing.

First off, in the clearing, he saw a beautiful, glimmering lake. It was frankly the prettiest piece of nature he had ever physically been to.

Second, Syrup was in the lake.

He saw her clothes neatly folded on a dry rock near the water. At first, Soul was confused. Syrup was in the nude, and seemingly bathing in the lake… but why? There were plenty of better places to take a bath, namely, inside a bath.

But he didn't even have time to think about the fact that she was indecent. Something else that was far more shocking grabbed his attention.

Yes, far more shocking than the fact he was he was essentially peeping on a naked girl.

"Hah…" Syrup sighed after dunking her head in the water and flipping it back, allowing her short hair to flap damply behind her.

She had ears.

No, not just regular ears. In addition to her normal ears… on top of her head…

Similar to leaves in appearance, they were like cat ears, except significantly longer, and seemingly like leaves.

And even more… Syrup had a tail.

It was, this time quite literally, just like a large leaf. It started out the color of her skin but quickly and immediately changed into a bright green color. It looked like it had the same texture as a leaf, with lines running along it like it was.

Soul thought they were fake at first, but his ability to see aura… it confirmed it otherwise.

Spiritual Energy radiated profusely from those ears and tail. On top of that… Syrup's aura seemed so… free and liberated now.

He could see that both the ears and the tail were connected to skin, and they moved like they were real as well. Soul could see Syrup's tail swish happily through the water.

Soul didn't understand what he was looking at.

How could this even be possible? What even was it…?

Then, he had a revelation.

"_But… that's impossible…"_

He took a step back as he tried to process all of the thoughts in his head, and…

_CRACK!_

"_Shit…!" _Soul cursed in his mind. Right beneath his foot was a twig that he had just loudly snapped.

Further proving that the ears were real, they twitched and suddenly pointed in Soul's direction. "Who's there!?"

Soul audibly gasped. She didn't sound angry… just scared.

Soul managed to see her facial expression for a brief moment. Her tail was suddenly flat against her back, and both her hands went up to her head to try and cover her ears. She was more afraid of someone seeing those ears and tail then she was with someone seeing her body.

She looked… terrified.

Her eyes were wide, her eyebrows scrunched upward.

"I can hear you—I mean, I can see you! I can't hear you! I can only see you!" She suddenly exclaimed, sounding flustered. "Come out!"

Soul's breathing was fast. He considered the option of remaining hidden…

"I said come out!"

Something hit the ground next to him like a bullet.

Soul's eyes widened. He saw a brief flash of green fly past him and strike the ground beside him. The ground beside him was now smoking slightly.

He looked back at her from behind the tree again. She had one hand free now and was pointing a finger at Soul's direction. Her finger was smoking slightly, just like the spot that had just been struck.

"I won't miss next time! I…!" Syrup said in a panicked voice.

Soul immediately jumped out from behind the tree. "Wait! It's me! It's me!" He yelled.

Syrup's eyes widened as she lowered her finger.

"Soul…?"

Her hands now covered her body instead of her ears and tail. Her ears, however, were flat against her head as if still trying to hide, and her tail was still flat against her back.

"W-why…?"

"You were acting strange, that's why…" Soul muttered, "you just saved my life, essentially… then, when we see each other again in real life, you run out in a panic…"

Syrup looked down and fully realized her indecency and dropped with her knees to her chest, her cheeks red.

"Please look away…" She said meekly.

"Y-yeah…" Soul replied, turning his back.

He heard the noise of clothes rustling, and Soul did his best to look away.

"I-I'm decent now…"

"Right…"

Soul turned around. Syrup was still damp, having just gotten out of the water and thrown on her clothing in a rush. Her ears were flat against her head, and Soul could see her tail peeking out from underneath her skirt.

Syrup was the first one to break the silence. "Is there any chance you can forget this happened and never talk about it again?" She asked.

Soul gulped. "I… don't think so, no…"

"Figures…" Syrup chuckled timidly, "I can't believe I let this happen…"

The question had to be asked.

"Syrup…" Soul spoke up, "Are you… a hybrid?"

**End**

**I've been leaving on so many tense moments that Bonus Scenes have always felt out of place. I promise they'll return someday, hopefully next chapter.**

**Also, when I finally break past a two-month-long writer's block, I suddenly start writing with no obstructions whatsoever. It also helps that I'm sitting at home doing nothing during quarantine.**

**So, this chapter came out pretty damn quickly.**

**I'm making up for the deadlines I missed! Woo!**

**To clarify some questions you all might have…**

**Cahya still exists within Soul for now.**

**Syrup is still a mystery.**

**Both Yuya and Yuzu become clingy when drunk.**


End file.
